Social Security Administration
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Does Social Security have an income cap for high-earning years when self-employed?
I'm trying to help my wife make a business decision that might affect her Social Security benefits down the road. She runs a home renovation business and her income fluctuates dramatically year to year. This year is looking to be exceptional - potentially $275k in profit. Her CPA is pushing her to purchase additional equipment before year-end for the tax deduction, but I'm wondering if there's any benefit to letting her income stay high for Social Security calculation purposes. I understand SS takes your highest 35 years of earnings, but is there a cap on how much they count per year? If her average income for her other top 34 years is around $85k, would showing this $275k year actually help her future benefits or is there a maximum income level they'll include in the calculation anyway? Trying to determine if the Social Security benefit boost might partially offset the higher taxes she'd pay by not taking the equipment deduction. Anyone have experience with this specific situation?
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Can I claim Social Security survivor benefits at 62 without resubmitting original death certificate from 25 years ago?
I'm turning 62 next month and finally planning to file for survivor benefits from my late husband who passed away in 2000 (I was only 37 then). I never remarried. Back when he died, I submitted all the paperwork to Social Security - death certificate, marriage license, his SS card - for the one-time death benefit, but obviously I wasn't eligible for monthly benefits at that age. My question is: will I need to hunt down all these original documents AGAIN to apply for the survivor benefits now? The death certificate is somewhere in my storage unit, and honestly, I have no idea where our original marriage certificate ended up after all these moves. Has anyone gone through this process after so many years? Do they keep these records on file or am I going to have to request new copies of everything? Really dreading having to track all this down if they already have it in their system somewhere!
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I think it depends on your local office tbh. Some are better than others. I've had to deal with SSA for my dad's benefits and everything was a mess. But then when I applied for my own retirement benefits it was super smooth. One thing no one's mentioned yet - if you can't find the originals but have copies, sometimes they'll accept those if they can verify the information in their system. Worth asking about!
Update: I finally got through to someone at SSA using that Claimyr service someone recommended. The agent checked my record and said they can see my husband's death is recorded in their system, but they'll still need me to bring the original marriage certificate to verify our relationship. At least I only need to track down one document instead of all of them! Thanks everyone for your help and advice.
That's great news! Glad you were able to get a clear answer. Just remember to bring your own identification as well (driver's license, etc.) when you go to your appointment. And make sure to arrive early - some offices are still understaffed and lines can be long.
glad it worked out! good luck with everything
Can I claim my deceased ex-husband's Social Security survivor benefits at 60 then switch to my own retirement at FRA?
I just found out my ex-husband passed away last month. We were married for 17 years before divorcing in 2012 (never remarried). I'm 58 now and trying to plan for retirement. Someone at work mentioned I might be eligible for survivor benefits through him when I turn 60, even though we were divorced? Is that true? And if I take those benefits at 60, can I switch to my own retirement benefit when I reach my full retirement age (67 for me I think)? My own benefit will be higher at that point. I'm so confused about all these different benefits and don't want to make a mistake that costs me money. Has anyone been in this situation before?
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Regarding your question about working while receiving benefits: If you're earning significantly more than the earnings limit ($22,560 in 2025), you might want to consider waiting. However, there's something important to understand about the earnings test. Any benefits withheld because of your earnings aren't truly "lost" - when you reach FRA, SSA will recalculate your benefit amount to credit you for the months when benefits were withheld. To make the best decision, you should calculate: 1. How much your survivor benefit would be at 60 (SSA can tell you this) 2. How much would be withheld based on your expected earnings 3. How much your own retirement benefit will be at FRA Sometimes it still makes financial sense to claim early even with the earnings test, especially since your own benefit continues to grow separately.
I had no idea they would recalculate at FRA for the withheld benefits! That changes things. I need to make an appointment with SSA to get the exact benefit amounts so I can do the math. Thank you for this detailed explanation!
I'm in a similar boat but I'm already 63. My ex died and I was going to claim his benefits but the SS office said mine would be higher soon anyway so it wasn't worth the hassle for me. Every situation is different tho!
This is why it's so important to get the actual numbers! My sister thought the same thing but turns out she could get an extra $400/month for 5 years by taking survivors first. That's $24,000 she would have left on the table!
Can I access my state pension (PERS) without losing Social Security survivor benefits to WEP/GPO?
I'm in a real bind with my retirement finances and hoping someone here might have some advice. I'm 68 and currently receiving Social Security survivor benefits after my husband passed away three years ago. I worked for California's Department of Education for almost 24 years and have a CalPERS pension that I haven't touched yet. When I talked to my financial advisor about accessing my CalPERS funds, he warned me about the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that could reduce or completely eliminate my survivor benefits! This pension is worth about $195,000, and I really need to access this money for some major home repairs and medical bills that are piling up. Is there any way around this GPO rule? Could I take just a portion without triggering the offset? Or maybe convert it to something else? I feel like I'm being punished for having worked in public service, and it's so frustrating that I can't use money that I earned without losing benefits from my husband's work history.
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Have you looked into seeing if there's any way to roll your PERS into an IRA? I have a friend who worked for Missouri government and she said she was able to do something like that which somehow avoided the GPO. Not sure if it would work the same with CalPERS though.
This is incorrect information that could cause serious problems. Rolling a government pension into an IRA does NOT exempt you from GPO. SSA specifically closed this loophole in 2004 with stricter regulations. They will still apply GPO based on the pension you would have received. Please be careful about financial moves based on outdated information.
Oh no sorry about that! My friend must have done this before the rules changed. Thanks for correcting me!
im so confused about all this pension stuff my wife gets her teacher pension and still has her ss but maybe thats bcuz she was a teacher in tennessee? do different states have different rules about this gpo thing??
The GPO/WEP rules are federal rules that apply nationwide, but their impact varies based on whether your wife paid into Social Security during her teaching career. In some states, teachers pay into Social Security and their pension system, while in others (like California, Texas, and several more), they only pay into the pension system. If your wife paid Social Security taxes on her teaching earnings, she would be less affected by these provisions.
Social Security earnings limit confusion - does the annual limit apply to income before starting survivor benefits?
Hi everyone, I'm feeling anxious about my situation and hoping someone can clarify. I started receiving Social Security survivor benefits in early November after my husband passed away last summer. I'm 62, so I know I'm subject to the earnings limit since I'm under my FRA. Here's what's worrying me - I earned about $21,500 from January through October (before my benefits started), and my friend told me I might have to pay back some benefits because I exceeded the annual limit. But when I called SSA, the representative said only my earnings AFTER I started collecting survivor benefits would count toward the 2025 limit. That doesn't sound right to me based on what I've read online. Does anyone know which is correct? Is it my entire year's income that counts, or just what I earn after benefits begin? I'm stressing about tax season coming up and potentially owing money back. Thanks for any guidance!
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Thank you all for the helpful information! I just wanted to provide an update - I called SSA again and specifically asked about the "grace year" rule. The new representative confirmed what you all said - only my November and December earnings matter for 2025, and since I earned less than $1,850 in each of those months, I won't have any benefits withheld. She apologized for the confusion from my previous call. Such a relief! I appreciate this community so much.
glad it worked out! the SSA can be so confusing sometimes
Just to add my two cents - I know several people who've dealt with earnings limit issues and it's almost always better to proactively contact SSA if you think you might exceed the limit rather than waiting for them to catch it later. If they determine there's an overpayment after the fact, it can be much more stressful to deal with.
That's good advice. I'm planning to work part-time next year, so I'll make sure to keep track of my earnings carefully and notify them if I get close to the limit.
StarStrider
wait so can someone explain if the income cap is different from the tax cap? Do you stop paying SS tax after a certain income? sorry im confused
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
They're actually the same thing. The income cap (officially called the contribution and benefit base) is $175,500 for 2025. This means: 1. You only pay Social Security taxes on income up to this amount 2. Only income up to this amount counts toward your future benefit calculation So once you earn more than $175,500 in a year, you stop paying the 6.2% Social Security portion of FICA taxes (though you still pay the 1.45% Medicare portion, which has no cap).
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Giovanni Colombo
Thanks everyone for the helpful information! Based on all your advice, I'm going to recommend my wife go ahead with the equipment purchase before year-end. Seems like there's really no Social Security advantage to reporting income above the $175,500 cap, and the immediate tax savings will definitely outweigh any potential SS benefit.
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