Social Security earnings limit confusion - $22,300 for 2024 when starting mid-year?
Turned 62 in May and started my Social Security retirement payments in July 2024. I'm working part-time at my nephew's landscaping business (about 20 hours/week) and trying to figure out this whole earnings limit thing. Is my 2024 earned income limit still that $22,300 figure I keep seeing, or is it different since I only started collecting partway through the year? Do I count what I earned from January-June before I started collecting? The SSA website is SO confusing and I've tried calling 3 times but keep getting disconnected. How exactly do they calculate what counts against the limit when you start collecting mid-year?
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James Johnson
The annual earnings limit for 2024 is $22,320 (not $22,300) for people under FRA (full retirement age). Since you started collecting in July, for 2024 only, SSA will use the monthly earnings test. That means you're allowed to earn up to $1,860 per month for any month you receive benefits in 2024 without having benefits withheld. For 2025, you'll be subject to the full annual limit (which will be higher due to COLA). As for income before you started collecting, SSA only counts earnings in months AFTER you start receiving benefits for the first calendar year. So January-June earnings won't count against you.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
•Thanks so much! That makes way more sense than what I was finding online. So just to be clear - if I made $3,000 in July (had some extra jobs that month), but only $1,500 in August, they don't average it out? They'd reduce my July payment but not my August one?
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Sophia Rodriguez
im in same boat started at 62 in march. they actually look at monthly not yearly for first year. $1860 per month is the limit not yearly when u first start
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Mia Green
•Actually, they only use the monthly test in the first year. Next year (2025) they'll switch to the annual test for this person. A lot of people don't realize that and get hit with overpayments in their second year collecting.
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Emma Bianchi
The Social Security earnings limit is so frustrating!! I'm 64 and they took back almost $4000 last year because I made $1200 over the limit. Didn't even warn me! Just suddenly smaller checks and a letter saying I owed them money!!! The whole system is designed to PUNISH people who want to work. And good luck getting anyone on the phone to explain it - I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through last year.
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Lucas Kowalski
•Have you tried Claimyr? It's a service that gets you through to actual SSA agents without the wait. I was skeptical but after being disconnected 5 times trying to fix an earnings limit issue, I tried it and got through in 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their website is claimyr.com - seriously saved my sanity dealing with my overpayment notice.
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Olivia Martinez
Just wanted to add that once you reach full retirement age, there is NO earnings limit. You can earn as much as you want without any reduction in benefits. So many ppl dont no this important fact.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
•That's good to know, but unfortunately I'm only 62 so I have several years before reaching my FRA. I couldn't wait to claim because of some health issues making full-time work impossible, but still need some income to supplement my SS.
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Charlie Yang
Everyone here is giving good info about the monthly earnings test for your first year, but I want to make sure you understand how the benefit reduction works if you do exceed the limit. SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the limit. So if you earn $3,000 in July (which is $1,140 over the monthly limit), they would withhold $570 from future benefits (half of the excess). Also IMPORTANT: These benefits aren't permanently lost! When you reach FRA, SSA recalculates your benefit amount to give credit for months when benefits were reduced or withheld.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
•Oh wow, I had no idea they'd eventually give the money back! That's actually a relief. So basically I'm just postponing some of my benefits if I work too much, not losing them forever. That makes the whole system seem slightly less punitive. Thanks for explaining!
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Mia Green
Make sure you're reporting your earnings to SSA quarterly if you're close to the limit. Don't wait for them to figure it out later through tax records. Much easier to prevent an overpayment than to deal with paying one back!
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Sophia Rodriguez
•how do u even report quarterly? nobody told me about that when i signed up!
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James Johnson
To clarify what others have said about the monthly test for 2024: 1. Only earnings in months when you RECEIVE benefits count 2. The monthly limit is $1,860 for 2024 3. Each month stands alone (no averaging) 4. Starting in 2025, they'll switch to the annual test 5. The annual limit for 2025 will likely be around $23,000-23,500 depending on the COLA Keep track of your earnings carefully, especially if you have variable income from month to month in your part-time work.
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Emma Bianchi
•And they wonder why people get confused and end up with overpayments!!! This system is RIDICULOUS. They make the rules so complicated that normal people can't understand them, then punish us when we make mistakes. I'm still fighting with them over my overpayment from last year!!
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