Social Security retirement at 67 (FRA) - how much can husband work without benefit reduction?
My husband turns 67 next March and plans to start collecting Social Security then. He's getting restless about fully retiring though and has been looking at some part-time consulting gigs. I keep hearing conflicting info about whether this will affect his SS checks. Since he'll be at his full retirement age when he starts collecting, is there any limit to how much he can earn? Will Social Security reduce his benefits if he makes too much? We're trying to budget for next year and need to know if we should factor in any potential penalties.
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Malik Thompson
Good news! Once your husband reaches his Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is 67 for people born in 1958 or later, there is NO limit on how much he can earn while receiving Social Security retirement benefits. The earnings test only applies to people who are collecting benefits before their FRA. Since he's waiting until his full retirement age, he can work and earn as much as he wants without any reduction in his Social Security benefits.
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Emma Anderson
•That's such a relief! I was worried we'd have to carefully monitor his income. So just to be clear - even if he ended up making $50,000 next year from consulting, his full SS benefit would still be paid?
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Isabella Ferreira
my cousin started ss at 66 and works full time still. gets both checks no problem
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Emma Anderson
•Thanks for sharing that! It helps to hear about real examples.
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CosmicVoyager
Just be aware that regardless of his age, if your combined income gets too high (I think over $44,000 for married filing jointly), up to 85% of his Social Security benefits will become TAXABLE!!! The government always finds a way to take their cut! We learned this the hard way last year when my husband kept working after starting SS and we got hit with a HUGE tax bill we weren't expecting!!!
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Malik Thompson
•You raise an important point about taxation. While there's no reduction in benefits after FRA regardless of earnings, Social Security benefits can indeed be subject to federal income tax depending on your combined income. For married couples filing jointly in 2025, if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security benefits) exceeds $44,000, up to 85% of benefits may be taxable. This doesn't mean you lose 85% to taxes - it means that portion is added to your taxable income.
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Ravi Kapoor
Good for your husband! Mine retired at 65 and was climbing the walls within three months. Ended up taking a job at the local hardware store just to keep busy. Best decision ever for his mental health.
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Freya Nielsen
I've been trying to reach SSA for weeks about a similar question (planning to work part-time after starting benefits). The phone lines are always busy and I keep getting disconnected. Has anyone found a better way to get through to a real person? I need some specific answers about my situation.
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Omar Mahmoud
•After spending hours trying to get through to SSA about my own retirement questions, I finally found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to a Social Security agent in under 10 minutes. It was worth it to not waste an entire day on hold. I watched their demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and it really worked just like they showed. Their website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Saved me so much frustration when I needed specific answers about my work situation after retirement.
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Chloe Harris
Just make sure your husband understands that while there's no earnings limit after Full Retirement Age, there are other considerations: 1) As someone mentioned, taxation can increase - up to 85% of benefits become subject to income tax at higher income levels 2) If he's on Medicare and his income goes up significantly, he might face higher Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA) surcharges on his Medicare Part B and D premiums two years later 3) If his consulting work is self-employment, he'll still have to pay the full 15.3% self-employment tax on that income None of these are reasons not to work, just factors to build into your financial planning.
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Emma Anderson
•Thank you for these details! I hadn't even thought about the Medicare premium increases. We'll definitely need to factor that into our planning. Is there a specific income threshold where the IRMAA kicks in?
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Isabella Ferreira
does anyone know if this same rule applies for disability? my brother is on SSDI and wants to try working part time
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Malik Thompson
•No, SSDI has completely different rules. For SSDI recipients in 2025, there's a Trial Work Period allowing work above $1,110/month for 9 months. After that, earnings above Substantial Gainful Activity level (around $1,550/month in 2025) can cause benefits to stop. Your brother should contact SSA directly about the Ticket to Work program before starting any job.
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Emma Anderson
Thank you all for the helpful responses! This has been really enlightening. We'll make sure to plan for the potential tax implications while enjoying the flexibility of no earnings limit. It's great that he can pursue some consulting work without worrying about direct benefit reductions.
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