SSDI to retirement at FRA - do I need to do anything and will income limits still apply?

Good news - you don't need to do anything! When you reach your Full Retirement Age, your SSDI benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits. The SSA handles this transition internally, and you'll receive the same monthly amount. You won't even notice a difference except the internal coding on SSA's end changes from disability to retirement. As for work limits, that's more good news. Once you reach FRA, the earnings test no longer applies to you. You can earn as much as you want without any reduction in your Social Security benefits. The only consideration would be potential taxation of your benefits if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds, but that's a tax issue, not a benefit reduction issue.

My husband went thru this last year and its true you dont have to do ANYTHING!! we were shocked how easy it was lol. The check stayed exactly the same amount too. He started working more hours at his job and nothing bad happened to his benefits. Its such a relief after all those years of watching every dollar he earned.

ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?? I called SSA when I hit retirement age after being on disability and the representative told me I had to come into the office to switch over!! I spent 4 hours waiting at my local office only to be told I didn't need to come in at all! The whole system is BROKEN and nobody there knows what they're talking about. I missed work for NOTHING and nearly lost my benefits because of their misinformation. I would call ahead just to verify - DON'T trust what people say online about this process!!!

make sure u check that your Medicare premiums still get deducted right after the switch. my uncle's didn't and he almost lost his coverage cuz the bills went to an old address.

One thing nobody mentioned is that if you're on SSDI due to a work-related injury and receive Worker's Compensation, the offset that reduces your SSDI benefit stops when you reach FRA. This could potentially increase your monthly payment. Same applies if you receive certain public disability benefits that trigger the WEP or GPO provisions. Might be worth checking with SSA if any of these apply to your situation specifically!

I just went through this exact transition last November. You really don't need to do anything - it's automatic. But if you want peace of mind, I'd recommend calling SSA about a month before your FRA date just to confirm everything is set. The problem is getting through to someone at SSA is nearly impossible these days. After being disconnected 6 times over 3 days, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through, the agent confirmed everything was all set for my auto-conversion and also helped me understand how the earnings test would no longer apply. Definitely worth the time to confirm everything is in order.

wait im confused... isnt SSI different from SSDI? my cousin is on SSI and she still has income limits even tho shes over 70??

Something else to consider - once you reach FRA and no longer have earnings restrictions, it might be worth looking into whether you should adjust your tax withholding. If you're planning to earn significantly more than you did while on SSDI, you might need to have taxes withheld from your Social Security payment or make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid a surprise tax bill. You can request voluntary withholding by submitting Form W-4V to Social Security.

Thank you all for the helpful information! Just to summarize what I've learned: 1. SSDI will automatically convert to retirement benefits when I reach FRA in March 2025 2. I don't need to complete any paperwork or contact SSA for this to happen 3. The earnings limits will completely go away once I hit FRA 4. I should check my Medicare premium deductions continue correctly 5. I might want to adjust tax withholding if I plan to earn significantly more This is such a relief! I've been so anxious about this transition and worried I'd mess something up. I think I will try to contact SSA about a month before just to confirm everything is on track. Thanks again everyone!

Great summary, Yuki! You've got all the key points covered. One small additional tip from my experience - if you do decide to contact SSA for confirmation, try calling early in the morning (around 8 AM) or late in the afternoon after 4 PM. Those tend to be the times when wait times are shortest. Also, have your SSN and confirmation number from any recent correspondence handy to speed up the verification process. The peace of mind is definitely worth it, especially after dealing with SSDI for 7 years. Congratulations on reaching this milestone - it's a big step forward in your recovery journey!

Just wanted to add something that might be helpful - I went through this transition about 3 years ago and everything everyone has said is accurate. The automatic conversion is seamless, and the earnings restrictions do disappear completely at FRA. One thing I wish I had known beforehand is that once you start earning more without the SSDI limits, you might want to consider opening a retirement account like an IRA if you don't already have one. Since you'll potentially be earning more from your bookkeeping work, it could be a good opportunity to boost your retirement savings while you're still able to work. Also, don't forget that your Social Security benefits may become taxable if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds (around $25,000 for single filers), but that's still much better than losing benefits entirely like with the SSDI earnings test. Best of luck with your transition in March!

Just to address the retirement account question - there's no age limit for opening or contributing to a traditional or Roth IRA! At 67, you can still contribute up to $7,000 annually (plus an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution since you're over 50). The main requirement is having earned income, which your bookkeeping work would qualify for. A Roth IRA might be particularly attractive since you're already receiving Social Security - the tax-free withdrawals in the future could help you manage your taxable income and potentially keep your Social Security benefits from being taxed. Definitely worth talking to a financial advisor about your specific situation once you start earning more after your FRA transition!

This has been such an informative thread! I'm also on SSDI (about 3 years now due to a spinal cord injury) and have been worried about what happens when I reach FRA in a couple of years. Reading everyone's experiences has really put my mind at ease. The automatic conversion process sounds much simpler than I expected, and knowing that the earnings restrictions completely disappear is huge. I've been doing some freelance graphic design work but have had to turn down projects to stay under the SGA limit. It'll be amazing to be able to take on more work without constantly calculating earnings. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread and probably follow the advice about calling SSA a month before my FRA date just to confirm everything is set up correctly. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this kind of real-world information is so much more helpful than trying to decipher the official SSA publications!