Social Security earnings limit for married couples filing jointly in 2025 - separate or combined?

Good news - once you've reached your Full Retirement Age, there is NO earnings limit that applies to you! This is true regardless of whether you file taxes jointly or separately. The earnings test only applies to people collecting benefits who are under their FRA. Since both you and your wife have reached your FRA (66/67), you can earn as much as you want without any reduction in your Social Security benefits. This hasn't changed for 2025, and it applies to each individual separately - not as a couple.

Are you SURE about this?? I thought there was a change coming in 2025 that would affect married couples filing jointly! My sister-in-law got a letter from SSA about earnings limits changing. Now I'm worried because my husband and I are planning our finances for next year and we're both collecting SS too.

My husband and I went through this exact same thing last year! The confusion might be between the earnings limit (which stops at FRA) and how Social Security benefits are TAXED (which can be affected by joint income). Up to 85% of your SS benefits can be taxable depending on your combined income if filing jointly. Maybe that's what your neighbor was referring to?

I tried calling the SSA for 3 days straight to get clarification on this same question and kept getting disconnected or sitting on hold forever! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent confirmed what others are saying here - there's no earnings limit once you reach FRA, regardless of filing status. Saved me hours of frustration!

ok so for 2025 the rules are the same as 2024? i thought they changed something too. what about if only 1 spouse is at fra but the other isnt? does the earnings limit only apply to the younger one then?

There's some confusion in this thread that I want to clarify. The Annual Earnings Test (which limits how much you can earn while collecting Social Security before FRA) is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the income thresholds that determine how much of your Social Security is taxable. For taxation of benefits: - If filing jointly with combined income between $32,000-$44,000, up to 50% of benefits may be taxable - If combined income exceeds $44,000, up to 85% of benefits may be taxable These taxation thresholds do consider joint income. However, the earnings test for benefit reduction is applied individually and doesn't apply at all once you reach FRA.

My brother works for the SSA and says people confuse this ALL THE TIME. Once you hit your full retirement age, there is NO earnings limit whatsoever!!!! But watch out for the tax implications - that's probably what your neighbor was talking about.

Just want to add - make sure you're also paying attention to Medicare IRMAA surcharges if your income is high enough. That's another thing that can be affected by joint income and sometimes catches people by surprise. If your combined income goes over certain thresholds, you might pay higher Medicare Part B and D premiums two years later.

As someone who just went through this transition myself, I can confirm what others have said - there's absolutely no earnings limit once you reach FRA! I was terrified about going back to work part-time at 67 because I thought it might affect my benefits, but SSA confirmed that I could earn unlimited income without any reduction. The key thing to remember is that the earnings test and taxation of benefits are two completely separate issues. You won't lose any Social Security benefits by working, but depending on your total income, you might owe taxes on a portion of those benefits. I'd recommend keeping good records of all your income sources to make tax planning easier next year. Good luck with your part-time work plans!

I want to add something that might help clarify the confusion about "changes in 2025" that several people mentioned. The Social Security Administration does announce annual adjustments each October for the following year, including cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) and changes to the earnings limit thresholds for those UNDER FRA. For 2025, the earnings limit for people under FRA increased to $23,400 (up from $22,320 in 2024). This is probably what people are hearing about as "changes" - but as everyone has correctly stated, these limits don't apply AT ALL once you reach your full retirement age. The annual announcements about these threshold increases often get misinterpreted as applying to everyone collecting Social Security, when they only affect those who haven't reached FRA yet. Hope this helps explain where some of the confusion might be coming from!

I'm so glad I found this discussion! As someone who just turned 66 and reached my FRA last month, I was having the same concerns about working part-time. My financial advisor mentioned something about earnings limits but wasn't specific about whether they applied after FRA. Reading through everyone's responses has been incredibly helpful - it's clear that once you reach FRA, you can earn unlimited income without any Social Security benefit reduction. I appreciate everyone distinguishing between the earnings test (which stops at FRA) and the taxation of benefits (which is based on total income). This gives me the confidence to accept a consulting position I was offered. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences!

I just want to echo what everyone has said here - this thread has been incredibly informative! I'm 68 and my husband is 65 (just reached his FRA), and we've been getting conflicting advice from different sources about working in retirement. It's so reassuring to see multiple people confirm that there's no earnings limit once you reach FRA. What really helped me understand was the distinction everyone made between the earnings test (which affects benefit amounts) and taxation of benefits (which affects how much you pay in taxes). These are completely separate things! For anyone else reading this who might be confused like I was initially - the earnings test only reduces your actual Social Security benefits if you're under your Full Retirement Age. Once you reach FRA, you can earn $1 million a year and still get your full Social Security benefit. However, that high income might make more of your Social Security taxable. I'm bookmarking this thread to share with friends who have similar questions. Thank you all for taking the time to explain this so clearly!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly thorough discussion! I'm 64 and planning my retirement strategy, so while I'm not quite at FRA yet, this conversation has been educational for my future planning. What I find most valuable is how clearly everyone has separated the earnings test from taxation issues - I can see how easy it would be to confuse these two completely different aspects of Social Security. The personal experiences shared here, especially from those who have actually gone through the transition to working after FRA, are so much more helpful than trying to decode official government websites. I'm saving this thread as a reference for when I reach my own FRA in a couple of years. It's reassuring to know that once I hit that milestone, I'll have the flexibility to work as much or as little as I want without worrying about benefit reductions. Thanks to this community for creating such a supportive space for people navigating these complex systems!

This has been such an enlightening thread! I'm new to this community and currently 63, so I'm still a couple years away from my FRA, but I wanted to thank everyone for making these complex rules so much clearer. I've been getting mixed information from various sources about Social Security earnings limits, and the confusion between the earnings test and taxation of benefits was really tripping me up. What I find most helpful is hearing from people like Mia and others who have actually lived through this transition and can confirm that there truly are no benefit reductions once you reach FRA. The explanation about where the "2025 changes" confusion comes from (the annual threshold adjustments for those under FRA) was particularly valuable - I bet I would have fallen into that same misunderstanding. I'm already planning ahead for part-time work after I reach my FRA, and this discussion has given me the confidence to know that when the time comes, I won't have to worry about losing any benefits. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and experiences - this community is an incredible resource!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to express my gratitude for this incredibly comprehensive discussion! I'm 65 and just reached my FRA last month, and I've been anxious about whether I could take on some freelance work without jeopardizing my Social Security benefits. Reading through everyone's detailed explanations has been such a relief - it's now crystal clear that there's no earnings limit once you reach FRA, regardless of how much you earn or your filing status. What I found most helpful was how multiple community members distinguished between the earnings test (which stops at FRA) and the taxation of Social Security benefits (which is income-dependent). I had been conflating these two completely separate issues! The clarification about where the "2025 changes" confusion stems from - the annual adjustments to earnings thresholds for those under FRA - was particularly enlightening. I'm also grateful for the practical advice about keeping good income records for tax planning and the heads-up about potential Medicare IRMAA implications. This discussion has given me the confidence to move forward with my freelance plans. Thank you all for creating such a welcoming space where newcomers can learn from your collective wisdom and real-world experiences!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly detailed and helpful discussion! I'm 64 and approaching my FRA next year, and I've been so confused about the earnings rules - especially with all the talk about "changes" I keep hearing from friends and neighbors. This thread has been absolutely invaluable in clearing up the confusion between the earnings test (which stops at FRA) and taxation of benefits (which continues based on income levels). What really helped me was understanding that the "2025 changes" people are talking about are just the routine annual adjustments to earnings thresholds for people UNDER FRA - not new rules affecting those who've already reached their FRA. The personal experiences shared here, especially from people like Mia who actually went through the transition to working after FRA, give me so much more confidence than trying to decipher government websites alone. I'm already planning some part-time consulting work for after I reach my FRA, and now I know I can move forward without worrying about benefit reductions. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge - this community is such a valuable resource for navigating these complex systems!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to express my sincere appreciation for this incredibly thorough and enlightening discussion! I'm 66 and just reached my FRA a few months ago, and I've been hesitant about accepting a part-time position because I was terrified it might affect my Social Security benefits. Reading through everyone's detailed explanations has completely put my mind at ease - it's now abundantly clear that there's absolutely no earnings limit once you reach your Full Retirement Age, period! What I found most valuable was how multiple community members carefully distinguished between the earnings test (which ceases at FRA) and the taxation of Social Security benefits (which is a completely separate consideration based on total income). I had been mixing these up terribly! The clarification about the source of "2025 changes" confusion - that these are just the routine annual threshold adjustments for people under FRA, not new policies affecting those at or beyond FRA - was particularly helpful. I also really appreciate the practical tips shared about record-keeping for taxes and the heads-up about potential Medicare IRMAA implications down the road. The personal stories from folks like Mia who have actually lived through working after FRA are so much more reassuring than trying to parse government websites alone. This discussion has given me the confidence to accept that part-time position I've been considering. Thank you all for creating such a supportive and knowledgeable community - I'm grateful to have found this resource!