Social Security earnings limit at 62 - Do royalties count & what about SSDI limits?
I just took the plunge and started collecting Social Security retirement at 62 last month (January 2025). Now I'm getting nervous about the earnings limit. I might need to pick up some part-time work at my neighbor's hardware store this summer. I've heard different numbers thrown around about how much I can earn before they start reducing my benefits. Also, totally different situation, but my brother is on SSDI and keeps telling me his earnings limit is different than mine. Is that true? The most confusing part for me is that I receive quarterly payments from a music publisher for jazz recordings my late father made in the 1960s. They're not huge (about $3,800/year total), but I'm worried they might count against my earnings limit. Anyone know if royalty payments count towards the SS earnings limit? Thanks for any clarity here. The SSA website is so confusing and I've been on hold for 2+ hours trying to get answers!
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Giovanni Ricci
You've got three separate questions here, so let me break it down for you: 1) For 2025, if you're 62 and collecting retirement benefits, your annual earnings limit is $22,320. That means you can earn up to that amount from wages or self-employment without any reduction in benefits. If you go over, SSA will withhold $1 for every $2 you earn above that limit. 2) Yes, SSDI has completely different rules than retirement benefits. SSDI uses what's called Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) as their limit, which is $1,550/month for 2025 for non-blind individuals. It's a monthly limit, not annual like the retirement earnings test. 3) For your royalty income - good news! Royalty payments are generally considered unearned income (like investment income) if you're not currently involved in creating the work. Since these are from your father's past recordings, they should NOT count toward your earnings limit. Only wages and active self-employment income count toward the earnings test.
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Amara Eze
•Thank you so much for this clear explanation! So the $22,320 yearly limit only applies to the hardware store job, not my dad's royalties? That's a huge relief. What happens exactly if I accidentally go over the limit though? Will they just stop my payments completely or reduce them proportionally?
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NeonNomad
just a heads up the limit goes way up once u hit full reirment age. im 65 and can make like $59,520 in 2025 befor they take any money. and when i hit 67 (my FRA) there WONT BE ANY LIMIT AT ALL. so for now ya just stick to that 22k limit and your good
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•This isn't completely accurate. The higher limit only applies in the year you reach FRA, and only for the months before your birthday. After FRA, there's no limit at all. Also, FRA varies by birth year - it's not 67 for everyone!
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Dylan Mitchell
my sister got royalties from a book she wrote and SS counted it against her! they made her pay back like $5000 in benefits they said she wasnt supposed to get. be really careful!!
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Giovanni Ricci
•That's likely because your sister was actively writing books - so the royalties were considered earned income from self-employment. The situation is different for inherited royalties from a deceased parent's work. Those are considered unearned income and don't count toward the earnings test.
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Sofia Martinez
THE ENTIRE EARNINGS LIMIT SYSTEM IS A SCAM!!! I worked part time after taking retirement at 62 and SSA didn't tell me about the limit until they DEMANDED $11,400 BACK a year later!!! They take our money our whole lives then PUNISH US for trying to work. Your fathers royalties SHOULDNT count but who knows what they'll decide when they want more money from you!!!!
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Dmitry Volkov
•While I understand your frustration, the earnings limit is actually mentioned in the paperwork when you apply for benefits before FRA. It's important to report changes in your work situation throughout the year so SSA can adjust your benefits gradually rather than creating an overpayment situation. And regarding the royalties - the distinction between earned and unearned income is pretty well established in SSA policy. Inherited royalties are consistently treated as unearned income, similar to investment dividends or interest.
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Ava Thompson
I had a similar situation with trying to figure out the earnings limit when I started my benefits. I spent weeks trying to get through to SSA on the phone and kept getting disconnected after hours on hold. Totally frustrating! I finally tried a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly what the first commenter said - royalty payments for work you didn't personally create don't count toward the earnings limit. Saved me a ton of worry about my book royalties from my deceased aunt's novels.
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Amara Eze
•Thanks for the tip! I'll check out that service. I've tried calling SSA three times now and always get disconnected after being on hold for hours. It's so frustrating trying to get answers.
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Dylan Mitchell
i heard the earnings limit is going up to $25,000 next year for people under fra. is that true??
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Dmitry Volkov
•The earnings limit typically increases each year with the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), but SSA hasn't announced the 2026 limits yet. The 2025 limit is $22,320 for those under FRA for the entire year. A nearly 12% increase to $25,000 would be unusual, as COLA increases have been running 2-4% in recent years.
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
I'm confused about something similar. If the earnings limit is $22,320 annually, does that mean I can earn $1,860 per month? Or do they look at the whole year at once? I have a seasonal business that makes most of its money in the summer months, so I might go over in some months but still stay under the annual total.
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Giovanni Ricci
•Great question! For the retirement earnings test (RET), SSA looks at your annual total, not month-by-month earnings. So your seasonal business model works fine with Social Security as long as your total earnings for the year stay under the limit. This is different from SSDI, which does use a monthly SGA amount to determine eligibility.
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Dmitry Volkov
One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: if your benefits are reduced because you exceed the earnings limit, it's not money you permanently lose. Once you reach your Full Retirement Age, SSA will recalculate your monthly benefit amount to give you credit for the months they withheld benefits. So you'll get a higher monthly payment after FRA to make up for some of those reductions. Also, for your first year of retirement, SSA sometimes applies a monthly earnings test rather than the annual one. You might want to ask about the "first year rule" when you speak with them.
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Sofia Martinez
•They NEVER told me about getting the money back later!!! I've been at FRA for 2 years now and my benefit is still the same reduced amount. How do you get them to do this recalculation???
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