Social Security earnings limit question - will husband's income affect my 2025 SS benefits?
I'm planning to start my SS retirement benefits next year (2025) when I turn 63, but I'm confused about how my husband's income might affect my benefits. He's 59 and still working full-time making about $85,000 annually. I know there's an earnings limit if I work before my full retirement age (which is 67 for me), but does my HUSBAND'S income count toward MY earnings limit? We file taxes jointly, so I'm worried his salary might reduce my SS payments or cause me to exceed the 2025 earnings limit. I worked for 35+ years but stopped working last year. Anyone deal with this before? Thanks for any help!
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Zoe Alexopoulos
Good news - your husband's income doesn't count toward YOUR earnings limit for Social Security! The earnings test only applies to YOUR own work earnings, not your spouse's income. So if you're not working yourself, your benefits won't be reduced regardless of how much your husband makes. Filing jointly doesn't change this rule. The 2025 earnings limit only applies to the person actually receiving Social Security benefits before their FRA.
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Andre Lefebvre
•Thank you so much! That's a relief to hear. So just to be 100% clear - even though we file taxes jointly, they only look at MY work income when determining if I exceed the earnings limit? That makes our retirement planning much easier!
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Jamal Anderson
WRONG information above!! They look at HOUSEHOLD income wen u file JOINT! My sister lost $230 from her check because of her husband still working!! Call SS and ask them directly don't listen to internet people!!!
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Mei Wong
•I'm afraid you're mistaken. Your sister's situation was likely about something else, possibly related to Medicare IRMAA premiums or taxation of benefits, not the earnings test. The SSA earnings limit ONLY applies to the beneficiary's own work income, not their spouse's. This is clearly stated in SSA publications. The earnings test is applied individually to each person collecting benefits.
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QuantumQuasar
I had exactly this same question when I started drawing SS last year! I was sooo confused because there are actually THREE different things that get mixed up: 1. The EARNINGS LIMIT - only YOUR income from working counts 2. TAXATION of benefits - yes, filing jointly means his income + your SS might make your benefits taxable 3. MEDICARE PREMIUMS - if you're on Medicare, higher joint income can increase your premiums Maybe the person above is confusing these? I spent hours researching this stuff!
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Andre Lefebvre
•This is really helpful, thank you! I hadn't even thought about the taxation aspect. So his income won't reduce my actual benefit amount, but it might cause my benefits to be taxed? That's something I need to factor into our budget.
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Liam McGuire
u should really just wait till your FRA to avoid all this headache.. thats what im doing. not worth the cuts to benefits
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Andre Lefebvre
•That's definitely something I've considered. But we could really use the extra income now, and I understand I'll be taking about a 25% reduction by claiming at 63 instead of 67. It's a tough decision!
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Amara Eze
I spent FIVE HOURS trying to get through to SSA last month with this EXACT question. Kept getting disconnected or put on endless hold! Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed what others said - spouse income doesn't count for earnings test, only your personal work income matters. But joint income DOES affect how much of your SS is taxable. Worth calling to discuss your specific situation.
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Andre Lefebvre
•Thank you for this! I've been dreading making that call because everyone says it's impossible to get through. I'll check out that service because I definitely have more questions about the taxation part now.
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Giovanni Greco
my wife started SS last summer while i still work. her check stays the same no matter what i make. but yes we do pay more taxes because my income plus her SS pushed us into higher bracket. still worth it for us to have her collecting early
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Andre Lefebvre
•Thanks for sharing your experience! That makes me feel better about our situation. Did you have to adjust your tax withholding to account for the taxes on her benefits?
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Mei Wong
To clarify some technical details here: 1. The 2025 earnings limit for beneficiaries under FRA for the entire year will likely be around $22,320 (based on COLA projections). Only YOUR earnings count toward this. 2. For taxation: up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + 1/2 of SS benefits) exceeds $44,000 on a joint return. 3. Your husband's income won't affect your benefit amount, but it will likely make your benefits taxable at the maximum rate due to your combined income. 4. If you're concerned about maximizing lifetime benefits, you might want to review if it's more advantageous for you to claim at 63 or wait, especially considering your husband's higher income currently provides support.
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Andre Lefebvre
•This is incredibly helpful - thank you for the specific numbers! I hadn't realized the taxation threshold was that low ($44,000). With his income at $85,000, it sounds like my benefits will definitely be taxed at that maximum rate. Something to factor into our calculations.
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Jamal Anderson
Look all i know is my friends wife gets less SS wen he works more so SOMETHING is affecting it maybe not earnings test but SOMETHING!!
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•That's likely Medicare IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) - when combined income exceeds certain thresholds, Medicare Part B and D premiums increase. So the net deposit might be smaller because of higher Medicare premiums being deducted, not because their actual SS benefit decreased. This happens when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $194,000 for couples filing jointly.
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QuantumQuasar
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - have you considered whether claiming YOUR benefits at 63 might affect potential SPOUSAL benefits later? If your husband's benefit would be much higher than yours, there might be strategies worth looking at for maximizing what you both get. These rules got more complicated after 2015 though. Might want to use one of those SS calculator tools online.
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Andre Lefebvre
•That's a great point I hadn't considered! My benefit will be about $1,850/month at 63, and my husband should get around $3,200 at his FRA. So yes, coordination definitely matters. I'll look into a calculator. Thanks for raising this!
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