Will Social Security benefits increase from continued work after early retirement?

Yes, your benefit can be recalculated based on your continued work! The SSA calls this an Automatic Earnings Recomputation (AERO). Each year, SSA reviews the earnings records of beneficiaries, and if your additional earnings are substantial enough to increase your benefit, they'll automatically recalculate and adjust your payment. The adjustment usually happens in October of the year following your earnings. Keep in mind that only earnings that are higher than what was used in your original benefit calculation will impact your monthly amount.

My dad went thru this same thing!! He worked til he was 72 and his checks went up a little bit each year. Not a ton but maybe like $25-40 each time? They do it automatic u dont have to call them

I've been in the EXACT same boat. Started at 63, FRA was 66. Kept working part-time and paying in. YES, they DO recalculate, but don't expect huge increases. In my experience, the AERO adjustments only added about $18-35 per month each time. They're supposed to do it automatically but TWICE they missed mine and I had to call. And we all know how FUN it is trying to get someone on the phone at SSA!!! 🙄

Social Security benefits specialist here. Yes, SSA performs automatic recomputations (AEROs) annually to check if your additional earnings increase your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Three important things to understand: 1. The recomputation only helps if your recent earnings are higher than the lowest earnings year used in your initial calculation. 2. Because you took benefits before FRA, your increase will still be reduced by the same early retirement percentage (roughly 0.5% per month before FRA). 3. If you earn enough to exceed the earnings limit ($20,750 in 2025 for those under FRA), SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 over the limit. This gets partially returned to you at FRA through an adjustment. The good news: these recalculations happen automatically every year after your earnings are processed, typically in October of the following year.

dont count on SS to do ANYTHING right! i worked 3 years after starting benefits, my brother-in-law too, and neither of us ever saw one penny more!!!! you have to FIGHT them for everything, they hope we just give up or die before they have to pay us what were owed!!

my aunt said she got a letter from SS about her benefit going up like $12 a month after working at walmart for a year lol better than nothing i guess

I had a similar situation and found out that while SSA does recalculate benefits based on new earnings, there are a few important details to understand: 1. The recalculation only helps if your recent earnings replace a $0 or low-earning year in your top 35 years of earnings 2. Any increase still gets reduced by the same early retirement factor that was applied to your original benefit 3. The adjustment usually appears in your October payment for earnings from the previous year In my case, I worked part-time for 4 years after taking early retirement at 63. My benefit increased by about $47 per month over that time. Not life-changing, but I'll take it! The best part is this happens automatically - you don't need to file anything special.

One thing nobody's mentioned - if you're working enough hours to make good money, make sure you're not hitting the earnings limit! For 2025 if you're under your FRA for the whole year, SS will deduct $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn above $20,750. Once you hit your FRA, you can earn unlimited amounts with no penalty. This caught me off guard a few years ago!

does anyone know how long it takes for them to add the new money? my mom said she had to wait like 6 months or something