Social Security at 65: Can we withdraw from 401k/IRA without affecting our SS benefits?
My husband and I just turned 65 this year and we're trying to navigate this whole Social Security and Medicare maze for the first time. We've worked our whole lives and have decent 401k and IRA accounts saved up. What we can't figure out is whether withdrawing from these retirement accounts will impact our Social Security benefits. Will the SSA count these withdrawals as "income earned" and reduce our monthly SS payments? We're worried about taking money from our retirement accounts if it's going to trigger some kind of penalty or reduction. Neither of us is working anymore, but we're confused about all these different income rules. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
17 comments
Join the conversation
Dananyl Lear
Good news! Withdrawals from your 401k or IRA won't affect your Social Security benefits. Social Security only counts wages from actual work as "earned income" for the earnings test. At 65, you're still under Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is probably 66-67 for you depending on birth year, so you do have an earnings limit if you were to go back to work ($21,240 in 2025 before benefits are reduced). However, retirement account withdrawals are considered "unearned income" and don't count toward this limit. They might affect how much of your Social Security is taxable on your income tax return, but that's a separate issue from benefit reduction.
0 coins
Lim Wong
•Thank you so much! That's a huge relief. We were worried we'd have to choose between touching our retirement accounts OR getting our full SS benefits. Just to be 100% clear - we can take as much as we want from our 401k/IRA and it won't reduce our monthly Social Security checks at all?
0 coins
Noah huntAce420
retirement accounts dont affect ss benefits at all. my wife and i been drawing from both for 3 years now. no problems. the only thing that reduces ss is if you still working before full retirement age. that's it.
0 coins
Ana Rusula
•I think you're right about retirement accounts not affecting the SS payment amount, but don't they still count as income for tax purposes? I'm pretty sure my aunt got caught by surprise when her Social Security became taxable after she started taking big IRA distributions.
0 coins
Lim Wong
Thanks to everyone for the responses! I'm still a bit confused about this tax issue that was mentioned. So our SS benefits won't be reduced, but could we end up paying more taxes on our Social Security because of the 401k/IRA withdrawals?
0 coins
Fidel Carson
•Yes, that's correct. There are two separate issues: 1) Benefit Reduction: This only happens if you have EARNED income (actual work) above the annual limit while collecting SS before your Full Retirement Age. 401k/IRA withdrawals don't count here. 2) Taxation of Benefits: Up to 85% of your SS benefits can become taxable depending on your combined income (AGI + nontaxable interest + 1/2 of SS benefits). 401k/IRA withdrawals DO increase your AGI and could push more of your SS benefits into the taxable range. So while your monthly SS payment won't be reduced, you might pay more in income taxes if your withdrawals are large enough.
0 coins
Isaiah Sanders
Don't forget that your 401k/IRA will have REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS once you turn 73!!! The government FORCES you to take money out and PAY TAXES on it whether you want to or not. This whole system is designed to TAKE YOUR MONEY. And yes, those RMDs absolutely can push your Social Security into being taxed at higher rates. Happened to me and I lost thousands!!!
0 coins
Xan Dae
•I've heard about these RMDs but don't fully understand them. Do they apply to Roth IRAs too? My financial guy never explained this clearly.
0 coins
Fidel Carson
•Just to clarify: Traditional IRAs and 401ks have Required Minimum Distributions starting at age 73, but Roth IRAs do NOT have RMDs during the original owner's lifetime. This is one major advantage of Roth accounts. And while RMDs can increase your taxable income (potentially making more of your SS benefits taxable), they don't directly reduce your monthly Social Security payment amount.
0 coins
Fiona Gallagher
When I was trying to figure this out last year, I spent DAYS trying to get through to SSA to ask similar questions. I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed what others are saying - 401k/IRA withdrawals don't reduce your monthly SS benefit but can affect how much of your benefit is taxable. For me, it was worth getting the official answer directly from SSA.
0 coins
Lim Wong
•I hadn't heard of this service before. Might be worth it just to get clear answers from an actual SSA representative. The tax implications are what worry me the most now.
0 coins
Ana Rusula
my parents had this same question!! they ended up talking to their tax guy who made them a spreadsheet showing how much they could take from their retirement accounts each year without pushing their social security into the next tax bracket. might be worth talking to a financial advisor about it?
0 coins
Lim Wong
•That's a great idea. We do have an accountant we use for taxes. I'll ask if they can do something similar for us. Having an actual plan with numbers would help us feel much more confident.
0 coins
Noah huntAce420
by the way since you both just turned 65 make sure you signed up for medicare part b on time. theres big penalties if you miss the deadline and its not automatic for everyone
0 coins
Lim Wong
•Yes, we did take care of Medicare enrollment right around our birthdays. The enrollment part wasn't too bad, but choosing between all the different supplemental plans and Part D options was overwhelming!
0 coins
Fidel Carson
To summarize what everyone has shared: 1. Withdrawals from 401k/IRA accounts will NOT reduce your monthly Social Security benefit amount 2. These withdrawals ARE considered income for determining how much of your Social Security becomes taxable 3. If your combined income (AGI + non-taxable interest + 1/2 of SS benefits) exceeds certain thresholds, up to 85% of your SS benefits could be subject to income tax 4. For 2025, those thresholds are: - 50% taxable when combined income exceeds $32,000 (married filing jointly) - 85% taxable when combined income exceeds $44,000 (married filing jointly) 5. Once you reach age 73, Required Minimum Distributions from traditional retirement accounts (not Roth) will be mandatory This is why many retirees benefit from tax planning that balances withdrawals across different account types to manage their tax liability effectively.
0 coins
Lim Wong
•Thank you SO MUCH for this clear summary! This is exactly what I needed to understand. I think we'll set up an appointment with our accountant to make a withdrawal strategy that keeps us in the best tax situation possible. This community has been incredibly helpful!
0 coins