Will IRA withdrawals reduce my Social Security benefits if that's my only income?

IRA withdrawals don't count toward the Social Security earnings test limit! Only wages from employment or net earnings from self-employment count. So you can withdraw as much as you want from your IRA without affecting your SS benefits. The earnings limit only applies if you're under your Full Retirement Age (FRA) and have actual work income. For 2025, if you're under FRA for the whole year, the limit is $22,320. Above that, they deduct $1 in benefits for every $2 earned. Different limit applies for the year you reach FRA.

different types of income affect SS different ways! IRA $ = no problem for earnings test but might affect how much of ur SS gets taxed if ur total income gets too high

The previous responses are correct - IRA withdrawals don't affect the earnings test, but they do count toward determining whether your Social Security benefits are taxable. For 2025, if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefits) exceeds $25,000 as a single filer, up to 50% of your benefits may be taxable. If it exceeds $34,000, up to 85% may be taxable. So while your SS benefit amount won't be reduced by IRA withdrawals, you might owe income tax on part of your benefits depending on how much you withdraw.

I wnt thru this last yr... so confusing!! I thought ANY income wuld lower my SS but my nephew said same thing about IRA not counting. Called SSA to confirm but was on hold for 3 HRS and gave up!!!

I want to add a bit of clarification here that might help. There are TWO separate issues people often confuse: 1) The Earnings Test - This only counts WORK income (W-2 wages or self-employment). IRA withdrawals are NOT work income, so they don't count here at all. This is what determines if SSA reduces your monthly benefits. 2) Taxation of Benefits - This is based on your combined income from ALL sources (including IRA withdrawals, interest, etc.). This determines if you pay TAXES on a portion of your SS benefits to the IRS. So while IRA withdrawals won't cause SSA to reduce your payment amount, they might cause you to owe taxes on your benefits when you file your tax return. These are completely separate systems!

another thing to think about - if ur only 64 are u on Medicare yet? Cuz IRA $ can affect ur IRMAA (those extra Medicare premiums) for next yr if u withdraw too much

To answer your follow-up about Medicare IRMAA thresholds - for 2025, the first IRMAA tier starts at $103,000 for single filers. If your total modified adjusted gross income (which includes IRA withdrawals) is below that, you'll pay the standard Medicare Part B and D premiums with no surcharge. Based on the withdrawal amounts you mentioned ($10-15k), you shouldn't have to worry about IRMAA unless you have substantial other income sources you haven't mentioned.

Just want to echo what others have said and add my experience - I went through this exact same situation 2 years ago at 64. The IRA withdrawal definitely doesn't affect your SS benefit amount (no reduction), but definitely plan for the tax implications. I ended up having to pay quarterly estimated taxes because my tax withholding wasn't enough once I started taking both SS and IRA distributions. You might want to consider having taxes withheld from your IRA withdrawal to avoid a big tax bill next April. Also, if you're doing traditional IRA withdrawals, remember those are fully taxable as ordinary income, which gets added to your "combined income" calculation for SS taxation. Good luck!

One more thing to consider that I don't see mentioned yet - if you're planning to take Social Security at 64, you'll be taking it early (before your Full Retirement Age, which is probably 66 or 67). This means your monthly benefit will be permanently reduced by about 25-30% compared to waiting until FRA. Just wanted to make sure you're factoring that into your financial planning along with the IRA withdrawals. The good news is that the earnings test limits I see mentioned above ($22,320 for 2025) still apply, and your IRA withdrawals still won't count toward that limit even with early retirement. But the combination of reduced SS benefits plus potential taxes on those benefits might affect how much you want to withdraw from your IRA each year.