How to report Social Security income while working part-time after retirement?

You're supposed to estimate your earnings for the year and report that to SSA if you'll be over the annual earnings limit (which is $22,320 for 2025 if you're under full retirement age the whole year). You don't need to report monthly - it's the annual total that matters. Call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 and tell them your estimated earnings for the year. They'll adjust your benefits accordingly to avoid an overpayment later.

i retired last yr and didnt report anything cuz my income was under the limit from my side gig. nobody told me i had to call them about it. the ssa website says u only need to report if ur going over that yearly amount

To clarify what others have said - you only need to report if you expect to exceed the annual earnings limit. For 2025, that's $22,320 if you're below full retirement age the whole year, or $59,520 in the year you reach FRA (and only earnings before your FRA month count). If your monthly earnings average $1,500, that's about $18,000 annually, which is below the limit. However, I still recommend calling SSA at the beginning of the year with your estimate. If your income ends up being more than expected and exceeds the limit, they'll adjust your benefits by $1 for every $2 you earn over the limit. The most important thing is to keep track of all your earnings. When you file taxes next year, SSA will compare what you actually earned with what benefits you received and make adjustments if necessary.

My situation was kinda similar but I was working retail after I retired. I just kept all my paystubs in a folder and added them up every few months to make sure I wasn't going over. Never had any problem with SSA about it.

I went through this exact situation last year and it was a nightmare trying to reach SSA to report my changes! I kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting for 2+ hours. I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed I only needed to report if I expected to exceed the annual limit. Since I was under, I didn't need to report anything, but they noted my file anyway just to be safe. Made me feel much better knowing I had done everything right!

Keep in mind that the earnings limit applies to EARNED income only!!!! If you have investment income, rental properties, etc. that DOESNT count toward the limit. Only wages and self-employment income matter for the earnings test. And once you hit your full retirement age, there is NO LIMIT on how much you can earn without affecting benefits!!

One more thing - if you do end up exceeding the earnings limit, you won't necessarily lose all your benefits. SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. And if you lose benefits due to working, you'll get those benefits back in the form of a higher monthly amount once you reach your full retirement age. The SSA recalculates your benefit to credit you for months you didn't receive a payment.

The problem is that NOBODY at SSA gives the same answer twice!!! I talked to THREE different representatives last year about this exact issue and got completely different answers each time!! One said I needed to report monthly, another said quarterly, and the third said only if I exceeded the annual limit! The whole system is designed to confuse us!

wait so if im understanding right as long as ur making less than the yearly limit ur totally fine? im making like 15k a year after retirement and havent reported anything