Social Security earnings limit question - filing after FRA in same year but still working

Good news! Once your husband reaches his Full Retirement Age (FRA) in October, the earnings test no longer applies to him - even for the rest of that same calendar year. If he files in November or December, he'll receive his full benefit amount regardless of how much he earned January through October. The earnings test only applies in the months BEFORE reaching FRA. Once he crosses that FRA threshold in October, Social Security won't count his earnings when calculating his benefit, no matter how high they are. This is one of the advantages of reaching FRA - you can earn unlimited income without any reduction to your Social Security benefits.

my sister had the same thing happen last year kinda. she reached her retirement age in august but kept working til december. she got full benefits starting in september even though she was still working!!! the SSA person told her that once you hit that magic age number the earnings limit doesnt matter anymore even if its the same year.

This is actually one of the few straightforward rules with Social Security (for once!). The earnings limit applies only UNTIL the month you reach Full Retirement Age. Specifically: - Before the year you reach FRA: $21,240/year limit (2023 amount) - During the year you reach FRA, but before your FRA month: $56,520/year limit (2023 amount) - Month of FRA and beyond: NO LIMIT So if your husband files in November after reaching FRA in October, he's completely in the clear. His benefits won't be affected at all by his earnings either before or after filing. The month you reach FRA is the cutoff - not the calendar year. It's a clean break point in the rules.

I was in the exact same situation last year!! I waited until the month after my FRA to file even though I was still working full-time. Got my first check with no problems. But then about 3 months later, I got a letter saying they needed to verify my earnings! I panicked and spent TWO WEEKS trying to get through to SSA on the phone. Always busy signals or disconnects after being on hold for an hour... so frustrating! Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent confirmed everything was fine and it was just a routine verification. Saved me so much stress! Anyway, your husband should be totally fine filing after FRA even with high earnings.

When my wife retired we had the same question and we just waited till January to be safe lol. Probably didn't need to based on these other comments but the Social Security rules are so confusing we didn't want to risk it.

You're confusing the earnings limit with something else! The earnings limit is $21,240 for 2022 not $59k. And there's a separate higher limit for the year you reach FRA which is around $56k I think. But thats only for the months BEFORE FRA. After FRA theres no limit but you still have to pay income tax on benefits if your income is high enough!!!!

Just to add one more piece of advice - since your husband will be retiring at the end of March next year, you might want to create a my Social Security account online (if you haven't already) to make the application process smoother when the time comes. Also, make sure to apply for benefits about 2-3 months before he wants them to start. While he can apply right after reaching FRA in October for November benefits, giving SSA a little extra processing time is always smart. And remember that even though the earnings test won't apply, his benefits might still be subject to federal income tax if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds. Up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be taxable depending on your overall income.