Social Security benefit suddenly reduced $280 after exceeding earnings limit - what's going on?

Yes, this is exactly how the Social Security earnings limit works. Since you exceeded the annual earnings limit by approximately $1,940, SSA is applying what's called the Retirement Earnings Test (RET). They withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. So: $1,940 ÷ 2 = $970 approximately that they need to collect back from you. They're taking $280/month, so that would recover it in about 3-4 months. The good news is that when you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA), they'll recalculate your benefit amount and give you credit for the months they withheld benefits. It essentially means a slightly higher monthly payment once you hit FRA.

same thing happened to me!!! worked at Walmart during holidays last year & went over by like $2000 and they cut me $310 a month for like 3 months. didnt even warn me first, just got a letter. sucks b/c had to borrow $$ from my son those months. after that it went back to normal tho

You need to be extremely careful with the earnings limit when collecting Social Security before your Full Retirement Age. For 2024, the limit is $21,240 (not $19,560 as you mentioned). Here's what happened: 1. You exceeded the earnings limit by working at the hardware store 2. SSA applies a penalty of $1 for every $2 over the limit 3. They recover this through reduced benefits for a specific period 4. The COLA increase is still applied to your base benefit amount The confusing part is that these two adjustments (COLA increase and earnings penalty) are happening simultaneously. So your base benefit increased by 3.2%, but then they're temporarily reducing the new amount to recover the overpayment. I recommend keeping a detailed record of your work earnings this year to avoid surprises. The annual limit increases each year with inflation.

OMG this exact same thing happened to me and I couldn't get anyone at SS on the phone for THREE WEEKS!!! I kept calling and calling and waiting for HOURS just to be disconnected. Finally got through to someone who explained exactly what the others here said - it's temporary until they recoup the "overpayment" from exceeding the earnings limit. The most frustrating part was just trying to talk to a human being to explain it to me!!

my neighbor said if u make even $1 over the limit they take a whole months worth of benefits away but that doesnt sound right based on what everyone else is saying here????

Thanks everyone for the helpful info. I'm actually feeling much better now understanding this is temporary. I was worried I had permanently messed up my benefits! One follow-up question - does anyone know if I should adjust my tax withholding from my SS benefits since they'll be lower for a few months? Or just leave it alone since it'll go back to normal?

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO CONFUSE US!!! I dealt with this exact situation and called SSA 6 times because I kept getting different answers from different representatives about when my benefits would return to normal. One said 3 months, another said 6 months, and a third couldn't tell me at all! They take our money our whole working lives and then make it IMPOSSIBLE to understand what we're entitled to. And heaven forbid you try to work a little to supplement the pittance they call a "benefit"!

One more important thing to understand: The earnings limit increases in the year you reach Full Retirement Age, and then disappears completely once you hit FRA. For example, if your FRA is 66 and 6 months, and you turn that age in 2025, the earnings limit in those months before your birthday is much higher (around $56,520 for 2024, and will be higher for 2025), and they only deduct $1 for every $3 over the limit (not $1 for every $2). Then once you reach your FRA month, there's no earnings limit at all - you can earn any amount without reduction. So depending on how close you are to FRA, you might want to factor this into your work planning.