Social Security suspended my benefits at 64 because of part-time work - isn't there an earnings limit of $22,230?

The letter sounds wrong. The earnings limit still exists and its $22,230 for 2025 if ur under full retirement age. Maybe they think ur making more than u actually are? Or confused u with someone else? Happens all the time with them!

The terminology in your letter is suspicious. "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA) is language they use for DISABILITY benefits (SSDI), not retirement benefits. For retirement benefits, they use the annual earnings test, which is indeed $22,230 for 2025 if you're under Full Retirement Age. It sounds like there might be confusion in their system about what type of benefit you're receiving. Do you have any history of receiving disability benefits before switching to retirement? If not, you need to contact SSA immediately to clarify that you're receiving retirement benefits (RIB), not disability benefits (DIB), and therefore the SGA rules don't apply to you - only the annual earnings test does.

SSA ALWAYS makes these mistakes!!! happened to my brother too last year. They had him listed as disabled when he was just taking early retirement. took FOUR MONTHS to fix and they kept his benefits the whole time!! complete nightmare

I've had to help several clients with this exact issue. What's happening is that the SSA's system sometimes doesn't properly reclassify individuals who transition from disability to retirement benefits. They're still applying the SGA rules (which prohibit "substantial gainful activity" for disability recipients) instead of the annual earnings test that applies to early retirees. You need to: 1. Gather documentation showing your current benefit type (any recent benefit award letters specifically mentioning retirement) 2. Prepare proof of your year-to-date earnings (paystubs, invoices, etc.) 3. Request an in-person appointment at your local SSA office 4. Explicitly ask them to verify your benefit type in their system 5. If they can't resolve it immediately, file a formal Request for Reconsideration The good news is that once corrected, you should receive back payments for any suspended months.

When I got my benefits suspended last year I tried calling SSA for weeks and couldn't get through!! It was ridiculous. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth every penny to avoid the hours of hold music and disconnections!

This happens all the time! SSA's computer systems are ancient and don't talk to each other properly. You're on the right track - it's definitely a mix-up between retirement and disability. I've seen cases where someone had disability years before but their profile never got properly updated when they switched to retirement benefits. The most frustrating part is that different departments within SSA don't even communicate with each other. Form SSA-561-U2 is what you need for the reconsideration if it comes to that. But DOCUMENT EVERYTHING - write down the date, time and name of every SSA person you speak with. Their systems are so fragmented that the person you speak with tomorrow won't know what the person today told you.

I BET they have your estimated annual income wrong!!!! This EXACT thing happened to me. Some SSA clerk entered my MONTHLY income as my WEEKLY income, so their system thought I was making 4x what I actually was. Took months to resolve and I almost lost my apartment waiting for them to fix it. The incompetence is UNBELIEVABLE!!!

my cousin works for social security and even she says their computer systems are from like the 1980s and they dont work right half the time. keep calling til u get someone who knows what there doing!!!

Just to clarify for everyone: - If receiving retirement benefits before Full Retirement Age: The annual earnings limit applies ($22,230 for 2025). SSA deducts $1 for every $2 earned above this limit. - If receiving disability benefits (SSDI): The Substantial Gainful Activity limit applies ($1,550/month for 2025 for non-blind individuals). If you earn more than this amount, benefits can be suspended. These are completely different programs with different rules. OP's situation sounds like a classic case of their record not being properly updated when transitioning from one program to another.

UPDATE: I finally spoke with someone at SSA! You all were right - they still had me classified as receiving disability benefits even though I've been on retirement benefits since February. The representative was actually very helpful once I explained the situation and showed that I had documentation of my retirement application approval. They're expediting the correction and said my benefits should resume with the next payment. They're also processing the back payment for this month. Thank you all SO MUCH for your help in figuring this out! I would have been completely lost without your advice.