Social Security benefit recalculation after high-income year - why no update in October?
I started collecting my Social Security at my full retirement age (67) in 2024 but continued working to boost my earnings record. This year (2025) I had my highest-earning year ever - about $87,000 compared to some zeros and low years in my work history. I've been reading that SSA automatically recalculates benefits every October to account for new earnings, and I was expecting to see an increase in my monthly amount. It's late October now, and I just checked my mySocialSecurity account, but everything still shows the same benefit amount. No changes at all. I thought the recalculation happened automatically? Should I wait until November to see if anything changes, or should I contact SSA directly to make sure they're including my 2025 earnings? I'm wondering if there's some form I was supposed to file that I missed. Has anyone gone through this process before? How long does it typically take for the increased benefit to show up after the October recalculation?
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Lena Schultz
The SSA doesn't use your 2025 earnings for recalculation until NEXT October (2026). They're working with a one-year delay. So this October (2025), they're just now incorporating your 2024 earnings into your benefit calculation. Did you have significant earnings in 2024 compared to the years used in your original calculation?
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Caesar Grant
•Oh! That makes sense. I did work in 2024 but only made about $42,000 that year, which isn't much higher than some of the years already in my calculation. So they're looking at 2024 earnings now, not 2025. That explains why I'm not seeing a change. Thank you!
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Gemma Andrews
i went thru this same thing last year. they dont tell u when they do the recalculation it just shows up one day. mine didnt change til like november 10th, and even then it was only like $23 more a month. dont get ur hopes up for a huge increase
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Caesar Grant
•Thanks for sharing your experience. $23 isn't much, but I guess every bit helps with inflation these days. I'll keep checking my account through November.
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Pedro Sawyer
The Social Security Administration's annual earnings recomputation happens in October, but there are several important things to understand: 1. As mentioned, there's a one-year lag - your 2025 earnings won't be factored in until October 2026 2. Any increase won't appear in your account immediately in October - it can take several weeks for the systems to update 3. You'll receive a notice in the mail about any benefit adjustment 4. The increase (if any) will be retroactive to January of the current year 5. Remember that only your highest 35 years of indexed earnings count toward your benefit calculation If your 2024 earnings weren't significantly higher than one of your existing 35 calculation years, you might see little to no increase. The earnings have to replace a zero or very low-income year to make a meaningful difference.
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Caesar Grant
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! This is really helpful. I didn't realize the increase would be retroactive to January - that's good to know. I'll wait for the notice in the mail.
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Mae Bennett
My husband had this same question last yr. The SSA doesnt use current year earnings, only last year's. And even when they do adjust it sometimes the amount is so small you barely notice!!! The whole system is frustrating.
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Beatrice Marshall
I waited THREE MONTHS for my recalculation to show up after a high-earning year! Called SSA repeatedly and got nowhere - busy signals or disconnected after waiting 2+ hours!! Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in less than 20 minutes. The agent confirmed my recalculation was processing but delayed due to a backlog. Totally worth checking their video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU if you need to actually speak with someone at SSA without wasting your entire day.
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Melina Haruko
•Does that service actually work? I'm skeptical of anything claiming to get through to SSA quickly. Has anyone else tried it?
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Beatrice Marshall
•It worked for me! I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying for days. They basically hold your place in line so you don't have to listen to the hold music forever. Agent I spoke with was super helpful with my recalculation questions.
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Dallas Villalobos
There are actually multiple things happening here that no one has fully explained: 1. SSA uses a process called Automatic Earnings Reappraisal Operation (AERO) for these recalculations, which typically runs in October 2. The AERO calculations use last year's earnings (2024 in this case), not current year 3. The actual adjustment to your payment won't happen immediately - typically takes 4-6 weeks after the AERO run 4. Any increase is retroactive to January, so you'll get a small "catch-up" payment 5. For the increase to be substantial, your 2024 earnings need to be high enough to replace one of your current 35 highest indexed earnings years If you worked your highest-earning year in 2025, as you mentioned, you won't see that reflected until October 2026. And remember, the higher your existing benefit, the less impact a single good year will make.
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Gemma Andrews
•wait so they look back at ALL ur past years every oct? i thought they just added the new year
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Dallas Villalobos
•Yes, every October the AERO process examines your entire earnings record, including the previous year's earnings. It then recalculates your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. If the new calculation results in a higher PIA, your benefit is adjusted accordingly.
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Caesar Grant
Thank you all for the helpful explanations! I understand now that: 1. The October 2025 recalculation is looking at my 2024 earnings, not 2025 2. My 2025 high-earnings year won't be factored in until October 2026 3. The update may take several weeks to appear in my account 4. I should receive a notice in the mail if there's any change 5. Any increase will be retroactive to January 2025 I'll be patient and wait to see if my 2024 earnings ($42K) make any difference, though it sounds like it might be minimal. Next year should be more interesting when my $87K gets factored in! This has been really educational - thanks again for taking the time to explain.
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Mae Bennett
my neighbor said she had to REQUEST a recalculation it wasnt automatic for her. anyone else have that problem??
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Lena Schultz
•The AERO process is supposed to be automatic, but sometimes there can be issues with reported earnings. If your neighbor was self-employed or if their employer reported earnings incorrectly, they might have needed to request a manual recalculation. But for most W-2 employees, it should happen automatically.
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Melina Haruko
I'm confused about something... If we have to wait a year for earnings to be added, how does SSA know what we earned? Do they get it from our tax returns or from employers directly? And what if there's a mistake in what's reported?
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Pedro Sawyer
•Great question. The SSA receives earnings information from the IRS after tax returns are processed. Employers submit W-2 forms to both you and the IRS, and that information is eventually shared with Social Security. That's why there's a delay. If there's a mistake in your reported earnings, you should check your Social Security earnings record on mySocialSecurity and request a correction if needed. You generally have 3 years, 3 months, and 15 days from the end of the tax year to correct any errors in your earnings record.
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