Can I earn over income limit while receiving survivor benefits before reaching my FRA in July 2025?

The earnings limit applies until you reach your exact FRA month (July 2025 in your case). If you file in March 2025, you'll be subject to the higher earnings limit that applies in the year you reach FRA, but only counting earnings before your FRA month. For 2025, that limit will likely be around $59,000 (it's $56,520 for 2024), and only earnings from January through June would count. If you exceed that limit, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $3 you earn over the limit. Once you reach your FRA in July, the earnings test goes away completely - you can earn any amount without reduction to your survivor benefits.

sorry for your loss. my wife started survivr benefits 3 months before her FRA last year and they took money away becuz of her job. she had to pay back like $2700! be careful

The earnings test is prorated in the year you reach FRA. You're correct that you can apply for survivor benefits as early as 4 months before your FRA without age-based reduction. For the earnings test in 2025: 1. Only count earnings from January through June (your pre-FRA months) 2. Compare that amount to the higher earnings limit for the year you reach FRA 3. Benefits are reduced $1 for every $3 over the limit The key is that once you reach FRA in July, you can earn unlimited amounts with no penalty. But be careful - if you earn significantly over the limit in those few months before FRA, it could temporarily reduce or eliminate your survivor benefits until you reach FRA. Also, don't forget that your survivor benefit amount is permanently fixed once you apply - you won't get increases by waiting past your FRA unlike retirement benefits.

I was in almost EXACTLY your situation last year!!! My FRA was October 2024 and my husband passed in 2023. I filed for survivor benefits in July 2024 (3 months early) and YES I got hit with the earnings test. They withheld 2 months of payments completely because I was still working full-time making about $60K. The SSA rep told me they look at your projected earnings for the months BEFORE you reach FRA in the year you file. For me, that was January-September 2024. Since I was going to earn about $45K in those 9 months, and the limit was around $56K for the year, I was under the limit and only lost 2 months of benefits. If you're making $58K annually, your January-June earnings would be about $29K, which should be well under the 2025 limit. You SHOULD be able to file in March without penalty, but honestly, the peace of mind of waiting until July might be worth it if you can afford to wait.

I tried calling SSA FIVE times last week to ask almost this exact question about survivor benefits and earnings test and kept getting disconnected or wait times over 2 hours! I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person at SSA. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and call you when they get a rep. Worked perfectly and I got my question answered in like 30 minutes total. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The SSA rep told me that the earnings test is super complicated but you can actually request a "pre-adjudication" where they'll calculate exactly how the earnings test will affect you before you apply. Might be worth asking about this specific situation.

my neighbor says jus dont report ur work income and they wont know lol

One more important thing to consider: if your own retirement benefit at 70 would be higher than your survivor benefit, you might want to think about a different strategy. You could take the survivor benefit at FRA and let your own retirement benefit grow until 70, then switch. This would maximize your lifetime benefits, especially if you expect to live past your early 80s. The earnings test wouldn't affect this strategy if you wait until your FRA in July 2025 to start survivor benefits.

so sorry about your husband. this stuff is so complicated!! i wish the SS website explained things better

I went through something similar when my husband passed in 2022. One thing that helped me was creating a spreadsheet to track my monthly earnings and projected totals. Since you're earning $58K annually, your January-June earnings would be around $29K, which should be well under the 2025 earnings limit (probably around $59K based on the 2024 limit of $56,520). However, I'd strongly recommend calling SSA or visiting your local office to get a personalized calculation. They can run the numbers based on your specific situation and give you a clearer picture of whether filing in March would trigger any benefit reductions. The "pre-adjudication" service mentioned earlier might be worth looking into as well. Also consider that even if you do go over the earnings limit slightly, the reduction is temporary - you'll get those benefits back when you reach FRA through higher monthly payments. Sometimes it's still worth filing early even with a small penalty, especially if you need the income.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Based on what others have shared, it sounds like you might actually be okay filing in March since your January-June earnings ($29K) would likely be under the 2025 limit. But I wanted to add something I learned when my mom went through this - make sure to ask SSA about the monthly earnings test option too. In addition to the annual earnings limit, there's also a monthly test that can sometimes be more favorable if your earnings vary throughout the year. For any month where you earn less than 1/12th of the annual limit (so probably under $4,900/month for 2025), you can receive your full survivor benefit for that month regardless of your annual total. This might give you more flexibility if you have any lower-earning months or can time things like bonuses or vacation payouts. Definitely worth asking about when you call SSA!