Social Security earnings limit confusion when retiring at 62 in 2025 - can I get retroactive benefits?

u cant get retroactive before FRA, they dont do that for early retirement

For your earnings limit question - Social Security looks at your ENTIRE yearly income for 2025, not just what you earn before retiring. For 2025, if you're under FRA the whole year, you can earn up to approximately $22,700 (based on 2024's $21,240 plus estimated COLA) before they reduce benefits. They withhold $1 for every $2 you earn above that limit. So with $35,000 just through April, you'll be well over the limit and will have substantial benefit reductions. They may withhold all of your benefits for several months until the reduction is satisfied. Regarding retroactive benefits - this is correct information from the previous commenter. Before Full Retirement Age, you cannot receive retroactive benefits. The earliest your benefits can start is the month after you apply (though you can apply up to 4 months before you want benefits to begin).

If you make $35,000 in 2025 and the limit is around $22,700, you'll be $12,300 over the limit. At $1 withheld for every $2 over, that's about $6,150 in benefits they'll withhold. If your monthly benefit is around $1,500, they'd withhold about 4 months worth of payments. Remember though - these benefit reductions aren't permanent! When you reach FRA, SSA recalculates your benefit to credit you for months benefits were withheld. One strategy to consider: if you know you'll make that much by April, consider waiting to apply until May or June. That way you won't have checks start and then suddenly stop due to the earnings limit.

Been there done that with the earnings limit nightmare!! The SSA doesn't make this easy to understand AT ALL!! When I applied they barely explained how this works and I got hit with an overpayment notice the next year. Had to pay back $4,800!! BTW - calling them to get this sorted was IMPOSSIBLE!! I tried for WEEKS to reach someone. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Saved my sanity when dealing with this earnings test stuff. Worth it to actually talk to a human who could explain my specific situation.

Everyone here is focusing on the earnings test but missing something important - you mentioned you'll earn $35,000 by April 2025. That's probably 1/3 of your annual earnings from previous years, right? Have you considered how starting benefits at 62 will PERMANENTLY reduce your monthly payment by about 30% compared to waiting until your Full Retirement Age? I'm not saying don't do it, but with your earning capacity, you might want to run the numbers on waiting a bit longer. The breakeven point is typically around 80 years old. If you expect to live longer than that, waiting to claim provides more lifetime benefits.

About your original retroactive benefits question - while you can't get retroactive payments before FRA, there is a bit of flexibility in the system. You can choose to start your benefits in any month after turning 62, even if that month has already passed when you apply. For example, if you apply in April 2025, you could request a start date of December 2024 (the month after your birthday month). This isn't technically "retroactive benefits" as defined by SSA - it's just choosing a past start date within the allowed window. But be aware: 1) You can only go back up to 6 months maximum from your application date, and 2) The earlier you start, the more your benefit is reduced. Starting at 62 and 1 month gives you a slightly higher benefit than starting at exactly 62.

your welcome. yah i was on disabilty before switching to retirement so i know how SS works pretty well lol. one more thing - i think youll need to fill out a work estimate form when u apply so they know how much your making this year. dont forget or they might come after u later

OK I'm a little confused here. Isn't SSI different from retirement benefits? I thought the earnings limits only applied to disability? Also doesn't SS check with IRS anyways so they know what you make?

Thank you all for the helpful information. I think I understand better now. I'll probably apply in April but request benefits to start in January (a few months after I turned 62). And I'll make sure to be totally clear about my earnings for 2025 so I don't get surprised with an overpayment notice. I'm going to call SSA next week to confirm all this. If I can't get through, I might try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. I really want to make sure I'm doing this correctly.