Social Security survivor benefits earnings limit before FRA - how much can I make monthly in 2025?

The earnings limit works differently in the year you reach your FRA. For 2025, if you'll reach FRA in July, you can earn up to $59,520 in the months BEFORE July without affecting your survivor benefits. That breaks down to $9,920 per month if you want to think of it that way. But SSA actually doesn't count it monthly - they look at your total earnings in the months before you reach FRA. Once you hit your FRA in July, there's NO earnings limit at all - you can earn any amount without reduction of benefits.

my brother in law got hit with this last year!!! he was making too much before his FRA and they took back like $1 for every $2 he earned over the limit it was a MESS. better to just wait till ur FRA if ur still working decent hours

The SSA only looks at your total earnings from January to the month before you reach FRA. For 2025, the estimated yearly earnings limit for those reaching FRA is around $59,520 (this is the 2024 limit with a projected COLA increase). If you exceed this amount in those months, SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $3 you earn above the limit. The key is your total pre-FRA earnings, not how they're distributed month to month. Two important points: 1. Once you reach FRA in July, you can earn unlimited amounts with no benefit reduction 2. SSA only counts wages/self-employment income toward the limit, not investment income, pensions, etc. This special higher limit and the $1 for $3 withholding (instead of $1 for $2) only applies in the year you reach FRA.

can't u just wait till july??? seems easier than trying to figure out all these complicated rules!

The whole earnings limit thing is RIDICULOUS! My sister lost thousands in survivor benefits because she didn't understand these stupid rules. And good luck getting anyone on the phone at SSA to explain it properly. I spent WEEKS calling and never got through. The whole system is designed to confuse people and deny them benefits they've earned!!!

One more thing to know - if you do exceed the earnings limit, SSA doesn't take back ALL your benefits. They do a calculation based on how much you went over. And if they withhold some of your benefits, you'll actually get higher benefit amounts after you reach FRA to make up for what was withheld earlier.

my mom just deposisted all her money in Janurary from her job and then lived off it rest of year lol... ss never knew! but thats probly not legit so dont do that

I went through this exact situation last year! I turned FRA in September and was so confused about the limit. In my experience, what helped was keeping a detailed log of all my earnings and submitting an earnings estimate to SSA at the beginning of the year. That way they could adjust my benefits in advance rather than hitting me with an overpayment notice later. You can update your earnings estimate anytime if your income changes.

Remember that if you're under FRA for part of 2025, you should report changes in your earnings to Social Security right away to avoid or minimize overpayments. When you file for survivor benefits, make sure to provide your expected earnings for 2025. If your earnings change significantly during the year, contact SSA to update your estimate. This helps them adjust your benefits correctly throughout the year rather than discovering an issue at tax time.

You can report earnings changes by calling SSA, using your my Social Security account online, or visiting a local office. The online account is usually the easiest way - there's a section specifically for updating your earnings estimate. Just make sure you keep documentation of all your income in case there are questions later.