Will SS count Q1 earnings against 2025 retirement earnings limit if I start benefits in April?
I'm planning to retire on March 31, 2025, but I'm worried about the Social Security earnings limit since I'll be under my full retirement age. My FRA isn't until April 2027, but I want to start collecting SS benefits in April 2025 right after I stop working. My question is whether the money I earn in January, February, and March of 2025 will count toward the annual earnings limit for 2025? I'm on track to make about $28,000 in those first three months, and I don't want to get hit with a penalty or have my benefits reduced because I went over the limit. Can I just start benefits in April and not worry about what I earned before I started collecting? I've read so many confusing explanations about this online.
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Theodore Nelson
yes ur earnings from jan-march count toward the yearly limit. When I retired, SS counted ALL my earnings for the year, even though I only got benefits starting in July. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
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Carmella Fromis
•Oh no, that's not what I was hoping to hear! So even though I'm not collecting benefits during those months, they still count those earnings? That seems unfair.
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AaliyahAli
There's actually some good news here. While the previous commenter is generally correct that all earnings in a calendar year count toward the annual earnings limit, there's a special rule for the first year you retire. It's called the Monthly Earnings Test. Under this rule, regardless of your total earnings for 2025, SSA will only count earnings in months AFTER you start receiving benefits. So if you completely stop working on March 31 and begin benefits in April, your January-March earnings won't count against you. The key is you must stay under the monthly limit (which is the annual limit divided by 12) in any month you're receiving benefits. For 2025, assuming the annual limit is around $22,320 for those under FRA, your monthly limit would be about $1,860. As long as you don't earn over that amount in any month after you start benefits, you should be fine.
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Carmella Fromis
•Thank you so much! That's a huge relief. So to be clear, I need to make sure I have ZERO earnings after March 31st for this to work, right? No part-time or consulting work at all? Or can I still work a little bit as long as I stay under that monthly limit you mentioned?
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AaliyahAli
You can absolutely still work after March 31st! You just need to stay under the monthly limit (around $1,860) for any month you're receiving benefits in 2025. So if you wanted to do some part-time or consulting work, that's perfectly fine as long as you keep it under that threshold. Also important to note - this special monthly rule only applies to your first year of retirement. Starting in 2026, they'll use the regular annual test instead of the monthly test.
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Carmella Fromis
•This is so helpful. I was really stressing about this. So I can make my full salary Jan-March, then maybe pick up a small part-time job later in the year if I want as long as I stay under that monthly limit. Perfect!
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Ellie Simpson
Just to add my 2 cents - make sure you keep REALLY good records of when you stopped working. When I retired mid-year, SS messed up and tried to count ALL my earnings even though I qualified for that monthly rule thing. Had to appeal and it was a HUGE headache!!!
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Carmella Fromis
•That's concerning! Did you eventually get it straightened out? What kind of documentation did you need to provide?
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Ellie Simpson
Yeah eventually got it fixed but took FOREVER. Had to provide last paystub, letter from employer with last day worked, and kept having to call SSA over and over. They kept saying they'd fix it then nothing would happen. NIGHTMARE!!
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Arjun Kurti
•I had the exact same problem when I retired in 2023! Took me 4 months and dozens of calls to get through to someone who could fix it. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person at Social Security. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - Saved me hours of hold time and hang-ups. I tell everyone dealing with SS issues about it now since their phone system is so broken.
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Raúl Mora
Everyone here is confusing me... so do the first 3 months of 2025 count or not?? I'm in a similar situation retiring in May but starting benefits in June at age 63.
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Margot Quinn
•It's actually pretty straightforward. Under SSA's "Monthly Earnings Test" for your first year of retirement: 1. If you start benefits in April, only your earnings from April-December matter 2. Your Jan-March earnings are completely ignored, regardless of amount 3. For April-December, you must stay under the monthly limit (annual limit ÷ 12) for each month OR have no substantial earnings Same will apply to your situation - if you retire in May and start benefits in June, only your June-December earnings will matter, and you'll need to stay under the monthly limit for those months.
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Evelyn Kim
DONT TRUST SS!!! I told them I retired in July but they still penalized me for money I made earlier in the year!!! They take all your money if you go over the limit!!
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Margot Quinn
•That's not accurate. If you exceed the earnings limit, they don't "take all your money." They withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the limit. And if you qualified for the monthly earnings test but they still counted your pre-retirement earnings, that was a processing error that could have been appealed and corrected. Social Security has specific rules they must follow.
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Theodore Nelson
My bad on my early response, I think I misunderstood your situation. That monthly earnings test is right - I didn't qualify for it because I worked part-time all year rather than fully retiring at a specific date. Good luck with your retirement!
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Carmella Fromis
•No worries! I appreciate everyone's input here. Definitely learned a lot more than I expected. I'm feeling much better about my retirement plans now.
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