Social Security Survivor Benefits and Earnings Limits after reaching FRA - Will my part-time work reduce my payments?
Hi everyone, I'm a bit confused about earnings limits with survivor benefits. My husband passed away last year and I started receiving survivor benefits in February 2025. I also reached my Full Retirement Age (FRA) in May of this same year. I've been working part-time at my sister's retail store (about 20 hours/week) since before my husband passed. My question is: now that I've reached my FRA, do the earnings limits still apply to me? I've heard conflicting things - some people said once you reach FRA the limits go away completely, others said they still count your yearly earnings. I'm making about $1,750/month from my part-time job. Will this reduce my survivor benefits? Should I be tracking monthly or yearly earnings? I don't want to get a surprise letter saying I owe money back! Thanks for any help you can provide. The Social Security website is so confusing and I can't get through on the phone.
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Amara Eze
Good news! Once you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA), the earnings limit no longer applies to you. This is true for survivor benefits as well as retirement benefits. You can earn as much as you want without any reduction to your Social Security benefits. The earnings test only applies before you reach FRA. So your $1,750/month from part-time work won't affect your survivor benefits at all now that you've passed your FRA date in May. You should still report your earnings for tax purposes, of course, as your combined income might make a portion of your benefits taxable, but that's a separate issue from the earnings limit.
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Liam McGuire
•Thank you so much for the clear explanation! That's such a relief. I was worried I'd have to adjust my hours or something. Just to be 100% clear - even though I started collecting survivor benefits in February (before my FRA in May), the fact that I'm now past my FRA means I'm completely in the clear for the rest of the year regarding earnings limits? No reduction at all for the rest of 2025?
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Giovanni Greco
acutely u need to be carefull about the year u reach FRA. theres a specil rule for that yr. first part of yr has 1 limit then after FRA date u got no limit. so feb-may would have limits but after may ur free and clear. but ur only PT so prolly under limit anyway.
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Fatima Al-Farsi
•This is EXACTLY right and the previous comment missed this important detail! In the year you reach FRA, there's a special earnings test that applies ONLY for the months BEFORE you reach FRA. For 2025, you can earn up to $56,520 in the months before your FRA without any reduction ($4,710/month). Since you're only earning about $1,750 monthly, you were already under the limit even before reaching FRA! So actually you had nothing to worry about for the ENTIRE year because your part-time earnings were low enough. But now that you've passed your FRA, it's completely irrelevant - earn as much as you want!
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Liam McGuire
I'm getting confused again with all these different answers. So for February through May (before my FRA), there WAS an earnings limit, but my $1,750/month was under it anyway? And now after May (my FRA month), there's no limit at all? Is that correct?
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Amara Eze
•Yes, that's exactly right. In the months before your FRA (Feb-April), you were subject to the higher earnings limit that applies in the year you reach FRA ($56,520/year or about $4,710/month), but your earnings of $1,750/month were well below that limit. Then once you reached FRA in May, all earnings limits disappeared completely. So you're fine either way!
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Dylan Wright
My wife went thru something similar last year. Once she hit FRA, the SS office said she could earn a million dollars if she wanted and it wouldn't affect her survivors benefits! The rep actually said those exact words to her, lol. But they also said something about the month you reach FRA being the cutoff, not the whole year. Your February-May earnings might still count under some special rule.
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Sofia Torres
•I work with clients on Social Security planning, and I can confirm that the previous responses are correct. Here's the official breakdown: 1. In the year you reach FRA, a special rule applies where SSA only counts earnings in the months BEFORE your FRA month. 2. During those months, the 2025 limit is $56,520 (or $4,710 monthly). 3. Once you reach your FRA month (May in your case), the earnings test disappears completely. 4. With earnings of $1,750/month, you were under the limit even during Feb-April. So you're completely fine! No benefit reductions will apply. Just be aware that up to 85% of your benefits might be taxable depending on your combined income, but that's a tax issue, not a benefit reduction issue.
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GalacticGuardian
I had this EXACT same situation but SSA gave me WRONG info and took money back later!!! They said I was fine but then sent a letter saying I earned too much in first part of year. Called and called and NOBODY could help. Was on hold for HOURS!!!!! So frustrating!!!!!
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Dmitry Smirnov
•I understand your frustration with SSA phone systems - I've been there! After endless busy signals and disconnections trying to resolve a similar issue, I discovered a service called Claimyr that got me through to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They basically call SSA for you and connect you when an agent is on the line. Was a huge time-saver when I needed to verify my earnings record. You can see how it works at claimyr.com or check their demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU But regarding the original question - the earnings limit for survivors after FRA is definitely zero. You might have had a special situation or miscommunication with your particular case.
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Liam McGuire
Thank you everyone for the helpful replies! I feel much better knowing that I don't need to worry about the earnings limits anymore. I was so stressed thinking I might have to cut back my hours or pay back benefits. I'll look into the tax implications, but that's a separate issue I can handle with my tax preparer. To the person who had issues with SSA taking money back - that's exactly what I was afraid of! I might check out that Claimyr service if I need to confirm anything with SSA directly. It's been impossible to get through on their regular number.
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GalacticGuardian
•Just make SURE to keep good records of your earnings by month!!! Print paystubs and save everything!!! SSA made mistakes on mine and I had nothing to prove them wrong!!!
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Giovanni Greco
my uncle tried 2 go back 2 work after FRA and his SS checks kept coming same as before. he made like $30k extra that year and nothing changed with his SS. so ya once FRA hits ur good 2 go
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Sofia Torres
One more clarification that might help: The complete removal of earnings limits at FRA applies to ALL types of Social Security benefits - retirement, spousal, and survivor benefits alike. This is established in Section 203 of the Social Security Act. I'd recommend keeping your SSA award letter that shows your FRA date, just in case there's ever any question. Also, it's good practice to create and maintain a my Social Security account at ssa.gov where you can track your benefits and reported earnings. Since your part-time earnings were below the threshold anyway, you should have no issues whatsoever. The system is designed to allow seniors to supplement their benefits with work if they choose to do so, especially after reaching Full Retirement Age.
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