When do we report my husband's part-time earnings to Social Security? He's 71 and still working

Good news - you don't need to report anything directly to SSA for earnings after full retirement age! When your husband's employer reports his W-2 earnings to the IRS, that information is automatically shared with Social Security. The SSA gets this information when you file your taxes. Since he's 71, he's well past full retirement age (which would be 66 or 67 depending on his birth year), so his benefits won't be reduced regardless of how much he earns. The only potential impact is that continued earnings might slightly increase his benefit amount if this year's earnings are higher than one of his previous 35 highest earning years used in his benefit calculation.

My husband did the same thing, worked till he was 74 at Lowe's. Don't worry about it, the SS people get all that info from IRS. They might even raise his benefit a tiny bit if he makes enough to replace a lower year in his record. It all happens behind the scenes.

The other responses are correct - no need to report anything directly to Social Security. I just wanted to add that any benefit recalculation based on new earnings usually happens automatically around October of the following year, after all the tax information has been processed. So if his 2024 earnings replace a lower year, you might see a small increase in late 2025. Also, this is a good reminder to check your own Social Security statements annually at ssa.gov to make sure all earnings are being properly recorded. Sometimes errors happen and it's much easier to fix them sooner rather than later.

u dont need to report nething. hes past Full Retirement Age (FRA) so no earnings limit applies. thats only for ppl who take SS early b4 there FRA. once your FRA its doesnt matter wat u make

I went through this EXACT situation with my wife last year - she's 70 and teaches piano part-time. Let me tell you, the Social Security system is INFURIATING!!! I called six times and got SIX different answers about whether we needed to report her income. One rep told me we needed to come to the office with proof of earnings quarterly, another said it was all automatic. The system is BROKEN! Finally I found out that yes, it IS automatic through tax reporting, but I wasted HOURS of my life getting that answer. And GOOD LUCK trying to reach anyone at SSA by phone - you'll die of old age waiting.

Everyone has given you good info about the reporting (you don't need to do anything special), but I wanted to add that earnings after age 70 CAN still increase benefits, though usually by very small amounts. My dad worked part-time until 75 and saw his benefit increase by about $18/month because of those extra earnings replacing a lower year from the 1980s. The adjustment happened automatically about a year after he filed taxes. So while you don't need to report anything, there could be a small silver lining to that part-time work!

Is your husband gettin SSI or SSDI? if its SSI then u DO hve to report his earnings every month cuz thats need-based!!!!

I think people who say SS automatically recalculates are being optimistic lol. My brother-in-law had to actually request a recalculation after working 3 years past retirement. Maybe it's supposed to be automatic but with the govt who knows if it actually happens!