Do 2024 earnings automatically update my Social Security benefit calculation after retirement?
I'm confused about how SSA handles new earnings after you've started receiving benefits. I retired in August 2024 after working January-July, and began collecting Social Security that same month. My monthly payment was calculated using my earnings through 2023 (35 highest years as I understand it). Here's my situation - my 7 months of 2024 income (about $58,500) is actually higher than several of my lower earning years that were used in my original calculation. Will SSA automatically recalculate my benefit to include these 2024 earnings, or do I need to contact them and request a recalculation? I don't want to leave money on the table if my benefit could increase! Does anyone know if this process is automatic or if I need to take action?
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Nia Williams
Good news! The recalculation is automatic. Social Security does an annual review called an Automatic Earnings Reappraisal Operation (AERO) every year. They look at new earnings posted to your record and determine if they increase your benefit. If your 2024 earnings are higher than any year used in your original calculation, they'll automatically adjust your benefit amount. This typically happens in October of the following year, so you should see any increase around October 2025. You don't need to do anything to trigger this process.
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Mateo Gonzalez
•Thank you so much for this information! October 2025 is quite a while away though. Is there any way to speed up the process? Also, will they pay me retroactively from when I started collecting in August 2024, or will the increase only apply going forward from when they make the adjustment?
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Luca Ricci
same thing happened to me, worked half of 2023 then retired. got a small increase automatically in november 2024. didnt have to do anything
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Mateo Gonzalez
•That's reassuring to hear! Do you remember roughly how much your benefit increased? I'm trying to get a sense of whether this will be worth the wait.
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Aisha Mohammed
The SSA should recalculate your benefit automatically through their AERO process. However, in my experience, it's ALWAYS better to be proactive with Social Security rather than assume they'll get everything right! I'd suggest calling them directly to confirm they have your 2024 earnings on record and ask them about the recalculation timeline. The problem is actually GETTING THROUGH to someone at SSA - I spent WEEKS trying to reach them about my own benefit recalculation!!!!
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Ethan Campbell
•I had the same frustrating experience trying to get through to SSA about my recalculation last year. After getting disconnected multiple times and waiting on hold for hours, I discovered a service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. It basically holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me so much time and frustration! You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or just go to claimyr.com. Definitely worth it for important benefit questions like this.
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Mateo Gonzalez
•Thanks for the advice! I think I'll try to contact them just to be sure. Better to be proactive than miss out on money I'm entitled to. And thanks for the tip about that call service - I'll check it out if I have trouble getting through.
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Yuki Watanabe
The AERO process is indeed automatic, but it's important to understand a few details: 1. The recalculation only happens after your earnings have been fully processed and posted to your record (usually after you file taxes) 2. Any increase will be retroactive to January of the year following the year with additional earnings 3. The actual dollar amount of the increase depends on several factors including your age, when you started benefits, and how much higher your new earnings are compared to the replaced year 4. If you're under FRA, remember that the earnings test might apply to your benefits depending on how much you earned in those 7 months of 2024 If you want to get a rough estimate of how much your benefit might increase, look at your Social Security Statement showing your 35 highest years, identify your lowest earning year that was included, and calculate how much higher your 2024 partial earnings are compared to that year.
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Mateo Gonzalez
•This is extremely helpful, thank you! I checked my Social Security Statement and my lowest earning year that was counted was only about $12,300 from a part-time job I had in the 90s. So my $58,500 from 2024 should definitely replace that. I'm past my FRA (67), so I don't think the earnings test applies to me. Am I understanding that correctly?
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Yuki Watanabe
•Yes, you're correct. Since you're past your Full Retirement Age (FRA), the earnings test doesn't apply to you - you can earn any amount without affecting your benefits. That $58,500 replacing a $12,300 year should definitely result in a benefit increase. Just remember that the formula doesn't simply substitute dollar for dollar - it's based on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), so the actual increase might be modest. But it's certainly worthwhile and will continue for the rest of your life!
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Carmen Sanchez
They never did mine automatically!!! I had to go into the local office and DEMAND they recalculate after I showed them my W2 from my last year working. Been retired 3 years now. Don't trust the system to work right!!!
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Andre Dupont
•Did this happen recently? I wonder if the SSA's processes have improved since then or if this is still a common problem. It sounds like they should be doing this automatically but maybe their system isn't perfect?
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Carmen Sanchez
•This was back in 2022-2023. Maybe they fixed it since then but I doubt it!! The whole system is a mess. My sister retired last year and they calculated her benefit wrong too and she had to call them 4 times to get it fixed. Always check your statements!!
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Luca Ricci
i think it depends on if you retirement benefits or disability. different rules.
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Nia Williams
•While there are different rules for different benefit types, the AERO process applies to both retirement and disability benefits. The main difference is that disability benefits convert to retirement benefits at FRA, but the recalculation process for new earnings works similarly. The situation described by the original poster is specifically about retirement benefits.
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Andre Dupont
I went through something similar last year. The increase happened automatically, but I was surprised how small it was. I worked 5 months in 2023 making about $45k which replaced a year where I only made about $8k in the 1980s. My monthly benefit only went up by about $28. Something about how they average and index older earnings made the impact smaller than I expected. Still worth getting though!
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Mateo Gonzalez
•Thank you for sharing your experience! That's helpful to set my expectations. Even $28/month adds up over time, so I'll be happy with whatever increase I get. I guess I was hoping for more, but it's good to be realistic.
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