Will Social Security deduct payments automatically for exceeding 2024 earnings limit?

They won't just spring it on you without warning! SSA will send you a letter telling you exactly how much they believe you were overpaid based on your earnings report. The letter will explain your repayment options, which typically include having future benefits reduced until the overpayment is recovered. They usually don't take your entire payment unless the overpayment is very large. Your calculation looks about right - with the $1 for $2 reduction rule, you'd owe around $2,950. Most likely they'll propose spreading this over several months by reducing your payments, not stopping them completely. But you should definitely call them to work out a payment plan that works for your budget if their default approach would cause hardship.

thry dont alwys get it right the first time. check there calculations!!!!! My wife made $27k last year and they said she was $5,800 over the limit but that was wrong bc they didnt factor in some unpaid time off she took. we had to FAX them her pay stubs (yes FAX in 2025 lol) to get it fixed. what a PAIN

I went through this exact situation last year! The SSA sent me a notice about 3 months after I filed my taxes. They gave me options: pay it all at once, have them withhold full benefits until it's paid off, or reduce my monthly benefit by a percentage until it's paid. I chose to have them reduce my payment by about 25% for 6 months, which worked out ok for my budget. Just be prepared to wait FOREVER if you try to call them to discuss options.

Something important to consider - are you going to reach Full Retirement Age (FRA) during this calendar year? Because the earnings limit rules change in the year you reach FRA. Instead of the $1 reduction for every $2 over the limit, it becomes $1 for every $3 over a much higher limit, and they only count earnings BEFORE the month you reach FRA. If you're turning your exact FRA this year, you might be calculating your reduction incorrectly. Check your Social Security statement to confirm your exact FRA, which depends on your birth year.

Wait, if you're past your Full Retirement Age, there is NO earnings limit! Once you reach FRA, you can earn any amount without reduction in benefits. The earnings limit ONLY applies to people who are collecting Social Security retirement benefits before they reach their Full Retirement Age. If you're 67 and your FRA was 66 and 8 months, you should not have any benefit reduction due to earnings. There might be some confusion about the months before you reached FRA (January through whenever you hit 66y8m), but going forward you should receive your full benefit regardless of how much you earn.

I don't think anyone mentioned this yet, but the amount they withhold is based on your ESTIMATE of earnings. Did you complete an Annual Earnings Report form? If your situation changed (like you're working less than expected), you can submit an updated estimate and they'll adjust accordingly. But if you don't report changes and end up earning more than estimated, you could face an unexpected overpayment notice. The SSA form number is SSA-795 if I remember correctly.

Just wanted to share - I also had an overpayment but for a different reason (they kept paying my ex-spouse benefits after our divorce was finalized). When they finally caught it, they initially wanted to take my entire check for 3 months! I almost had a heart attack. But I called and requested a payment plan, and they were actually pretty reasonable. They ended up taking 15% of my check for 10 months instead. So definitely call them to negotiate if their initial proposal doesn't work for you.

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses! I can't believe I misunderstood such a basic rule. I'm actually PAST my FRA (reached it in November 2024), so the earnings limit doesn't even apply to me anymore. This whole time I've been worrying and trying to budget for a reduction that wasn't going to happen! I'm still going to try reaching SSA just to confirm everything is correct in their system. Thanks again for all the information and advice!