Self-employed therapist at 62 - How do SS earnings limits apply to my private practice?

The 15-hour rule isn't what you think. For self-employed individuals, Social Security uses both an income test AND an activity test. Even if you work under 15 hours per week, if your earnings exceed the annual limit ($22,320 for 2025), they'll still reduce your benefits $1 for every $2 over the limit. The 15-hour guideline is part of how SSA determines if you've actually "retired" when your earnings are questionable, but it doesn't override the earnings limit. It's primarily used when self-employed people try to artificially lower their income while still working substantially. Regarding your FRA benefit amount - SSA calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings (adjusted for inflation). If these lower-earning years in your 60s replace higher-earning years in your work history, yes, your benefit could decrease slightly. However, if you already have 35 strong earning years, a few lower years won't impact your benefit calculation much.

im self employed too (general contractor) and the whole thing is crazy complicated!! i started taking ss last year at 63 and they actually audited me 🙄 asked for all kinds of records about how many hours i was working even tho my schedule c showed i was under the limit. make sure you keep good records of your appointments so you can prove your hours if they ask!

The whole earnings limit situation is RIDICULOUS! My husband is a self-employed therapist too and went through this nightmare last year. SSA doesn't understand how mental health practices work - you can earn different amounts seeing the same number of clients depending on which insurance they have. Plus there's all the unpaid administrative hours. He had to document EVERYTHING - appointment calendars, which clients had which insurance, how long he spent on paperwork. Then they still reduced his benefits because they counted some of his "retirement planning" time as work hours. The whole system is designed for W-2 employees from the 1950s, not modern self-employed professionals!!!

Have you considered using the online calculator tools on the SSA website to estimate your benefit changes? You can create a my Social Security account and use their retirement estimator. It allows you to model different earnings scenarios for your remaining work years. Regarding the self-employment rules, one thing that often confuses people is that Social Security doesn't just look at your net earnings on Schedule C. They consider your "countable income" which is generally net earnings from self-employment minus employer equivalent portion of self-employment tax. For the therapy work specifically, it gets tricky because there's both direct client time and indirect services (notes, billing, etc.). SSA considers ALL of that as work activity, not just the billable hours. Document everything carefully if you plan to work under the earnings limit.

Have you considered just waiting until your FRA? That's what I did - the earnings test is SUCH a headache if you're self-employed. Plus your monthly benefit will be higher. For me the peace of mind was worth waiting.

I spent 2 hours on hold with Social Security last week trying to get clarification on almost this exact issue (I'm a self-employed consultant approaching 62). Never got through to anyone. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA representative in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with explained that the 15-hour guideline is just one factor they consider, but the earnings limit is still the primary test. She recommended keeping detailed records of all work activities - client sessions, paperwork time, billing, everything. She also said setting regular office hours that clearly show reduced work can help establish that you're partially retired even if you occasionally exceed 15 hours in a particular week.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you do decide to claim early and end up having benefits withheld due to excess earnings, those withheld benefits aren't lost forever. Once you reach FRA, SSA will recalculate and increase your monthly benefit to account for the months when benefits were withheld. For example, if you claim at 62 but have 6 months of benefits completely withheld due to earnings, at FRA your benefit would be adjusted as if you had claimed at 62½ instead of 62. It's a small silver lining if you do end up with reduced benefits due to working.

I'm facing a similar situation as a self-employed consultant. One strategy I'm considering is properly structuring my business affairs before claiming. Have you considered: 1. Shifting some income to different tax years if possible with your billing? 2. Legitimate business expenses that might reduce your net Schedule C income? 3. Potentially forming an S-Corp where only part of your income is self-employment earnings? Obviously talk to your accountant about these, but there are legal ways to manage your countable income that might help you stay under the limit while still maintaining your practice at a comfortable level.

Something else to consider - with self-employment in therapy, you might also have passive income from things like subletting office space or selling workbooks/materials you've created. My friend who's a therapist has a small passive income stream from a mindfulness workbook she published years ago. SSA doesn't count that as earned income for the earnings test - only income that's directly tied to your current work activity counts.

Thank you all SO much for these insights. I'm learning toward waiting until my FRA now to avoid the headache of documentation and possible disputes with SSA. But if I do decide to claim early, I'll definitely: 1. Get professional advice about structuring my practice 2. Set up meticulous documentation of all work hours 3. Create clear boundaries showing reduced work schedule 4. Use that Claimyr service to actually speak with someone at SSA before making my decision Never realized what a complicated mess this would be as a self-employed person. The SSA publications make it seem much simpler than it actually is in practice!