When to notify Social Security about full retirement if I'm still working while collecting SS benefits?

You don't need to notify SSA when you fully retire if you're already receiving Social Security benefits. Since you're past your Full Retirement Age (FRA), there's no earnings limit, as you correctly noted. When you stop working, your employer will stop reporting wages, and that happens automatically in the system. The only thing you might want to check is whether stopping work will change your Medicare Part B and D premiums, as those are income-based through IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount). But that adjustment happens automatically based on your tax returns from 2 years prior.

i didnt tell them when i quit working and nothing bad happened lol. but i was already getting my social security checks for like 3 years before i stopped my weekend cashier job

Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE about this? When I stopped working 2 years ago, my neighbor told me I had to notify SSA or they would think I was still earning income!!! I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to someone on the phone and when I finally did, they said I didn't need to notify them at all!!! So much wasted time and stress for NOTHING. The whole system is designed to confuse people!!!

Quick question related to this - what happens to your benefit amount when you stop working? My husband has been working while collecting for 2 years past his FRA and wonders if his benefit will recalculate when he fully retires next month?

I retired 6 months ago after working part-time for 3 years while collecting Social Security. Never told SSA anything about stopping work and everything's been fine. BUT what you should do is double-check your earnings record on my Social Security account after you file taxes for your final work year. Sometimes employers make reporting mistakes in that final year and it's easier to fix sooner rather than later.

My situation is a bit different from yours since I started taking benefits at 62 and had to watch that earnings limit like a hawk! But when I hit my full retirement age last year and the earnings limit went away, I was told by an SSA rep that I didn't need to report anything when I finally retire completely. Just make sure your last employer reports your final wages correctly on your W-2. One thing though - if you're having taxes withheld from your SS benefits because of your combined income, you might want to submit a new W-4V form to adjust your withholding after you stop working.

Just to add a bit more detail to what others have said - there are only specific life events you need to report to SSA: address changes, direct deposit changes, leaving the country for 30+ days, marriage/divorce, name change, becoming eligible for a pension from non-covered work, felony conviction, or death of a beneficiary. Stopping work when you're already receiving benefits and are past FRA isn't on that list. The SSA publication "What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement Benefits" (No. 05-10077) has a full listing if you want to double-check.

my sister said she reported when she stopped working and then got a letter about her medicare premium going down the next year so maybe theres some benefit to telling them? idk how it all works tbh