To give you the most precise answer: In the year you reach FRA, the earnings test changes in the month you reach FRA. For January through March 2025, you'll be subject to the standard test (approximately $2,000/month or $25,000/year in 2025), with $1 withheld for every $2 above the limit. However, this uses a MONTHLY test in your first year claiming benefits. So if your monthly income exceeds the limit in February and March, you might not receive benefits for those months. But starting in April (your FRA month), you'll receive your full benefit regardless of earnings. And as someone else mentioned, any benefits withheld aren't permanently lost - SSA recalculates your benefit when you reach FRA to account for months benefits were withheld.

Just curious why not just wait the extra 2 months til April? Seems like it would be easier than dealing with all this withholding stuff.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'm going to gather all our documents and apply this week. I'll try calling again first to set up an appointment, but if I can't get through, I'll try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. I'll update once I hear back from SSA about my application!

Good luck! Definitely let us know how it goes. The child-in-care benefit can be so helpful for families in your situation.

One more thing to consider - if 2025 is your first year receiving benefits, you can use the monthly earnings test rather than the annual one. This special rule is designed for mid-year retirees. So you could start your benefits in November (when you stop working), and SS would only look at your monthly earnings from November and December, not your total 2025 earnings. This is what I did and it worked out perfectly - I got my full benefit amount for the months after I stopped working, even though I'd earned well over the annual limit already.

Did anyone mention that all this is TEMPORARY??? Once you hit full retirement age (66+), the earnings test GOES AWAY COMPLETELY. You can earn a million dollars and still get your full SS. The whole earnings limit thing only applies if you claim before your FRA.

My friend heard this too and panicked for nothing!! The whole system is BROKEN but at least they haven't messed with the FRA earnings rule YET. But watch out - they're always looking for ways to take away our benefits that WE PAID FOR all these years!!!! The real issue isn't people working after retirement - it's the government STEALING from the trust fund for decades!!!!

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses! You've really put my mind at ease. I'll go ahead with my plans to start that new job next month when I hit 67. I appreciate all the clarification about the difference between benefit reductions (which won't happen) and potential tax implications (which I'm preparing for). And thanks for confirming this isn't changing anytime soon!

I'm so confused about all this. Is WEP the same as GPO? My husband has a pension from his county job but I worked regular jobs all my life. Will my SS be reduced too? Sorry if this is a dumb question, just trying to figure this all out before we retire next year.

To answer your original question more specifically, here's how to see what your benefit would be without WEP: 1. Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local office 2. Request a "Detailed Earnings Query" and a "WEP Computation" 3. The WEP Computation will show your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) both before and after the WEP reduction 4. Ask them to explain which years counted as "substantial earnings" toward reducing your WEP penalty With 22 years of substantial earnings in Social Security-covered employment, your WEP reduction should be 90% of the maximum reduction (which is $647 in 2025). So instead of losing $647, you would lose about $582 per month. However, if some of those 22 years didn't meet the substantial earnings threshold for their respective years, the calculation would be different.