Will Social Security make me pay back benefits if I return to work and exceed earnings limit?
I'm 63 and started collecting Social Security early about 8 months ago. Now I've got a job offer that's too good to pass up, but it would definitely put me way over the annual earnings limit. I'm confused about what happens next - do I have to pay back ALL the SS benefits I've already received this year? Or does SSA just stop my payments until I fully retire again? And when I do retire for good, will my benefits automatically restart at the same amount, or do I need to reapply? I can't seem to get a straight answer from the SSA website and the phone wait times are insane. Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been in this situation!
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Sydney Torres
You don't have to pay back everything you've received so far. What happens is SSA will withhold benefits once you go over the earnings limit ($21,240 for 2025 if you're under FRA). For every $2 you earn above that limit, they withhold $1 in benefits. They typically adjust by stopping your monthly payments until the withholding amount is satisfied, rather than asking for money back directly. When you reach Full Retirement Age, the earnings test disappears completely and your benefit will be recalculated to give you credit for the months benefits were withheld. So you actually aren't permanently losing those benefits - they get factored back in later.
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Alfredo Lugo
•Thank you so much for this clear explanation! So if my new job would put me at about $45,000 this year, that's roughly $24,000 over the limit. So they'd withhold about $12,000 in benefits? That would be like 8-9 months of no payments for me. Does this affect my Medicare too or just the SS payment?
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
my sister had this EXACT issue last year!!! she started ss at 62 then went back to work after 6 months. they STOPPED her payments for almost the whole year once she reported her income. they didn't make her pay anything back tho. but its sooooo confusing, she got a letter with all these calculations she didnt understand at all
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Sydney Torres
•Yes, those benefit adjustment letters can be very confusing! The calculations show how they determine the withholding amount based on your projected earnings. It's always good to keep those letters for your records, even if they're hard to understand, because sometimes SSA makes mistakes in their calculations.
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Caleb Bell
Just to add a bit more technical detail - this is called the Retirement Earnings Test (RET). Something important to know is that during the first year you claim benefits, SSA applies a monthly earnings test rather than annual. So if you start work mid-year, they'll only withhold benefits for months where your earnings exceed $1,770 (for 2025). Also, the year you reach Full Retirement Age has a much higher limit ($56,520 in 2025) and they only withhold $1 for every $3 over the limit. And this only counts earnings before the month you reach FRA. When your benefits resume after you fully retire, you don't need to reapply. They should restart automatically, and your benefit will eventually be recalculated to account for the months benefits were withheld.
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Alfredo Lugo
•This is really helpful information, especially about the monthly test in the first year. My FRA is 67, so I've still got several years before I hit that milestone. If I take this job, I'll make sure to report my expected earnings to SSA right away so they can adjust things properly instead of creating an overpayment situation.
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Danielle Campbell
I went through this nightmare last year. The worst part is TRYING TO CONTACT SSA to report your earnings! I spent WEEKS trying to get through on the phone. Always busy or disconnected after waiting an hour! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or getting disconnected. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Totally worth it because I needed to report my earnings change ASAP to avoid an overpayment. The agent walked me through exactly how much would be withheld and when my payments would stop/restart.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•omg thank u for sharing this!!! i need to call about my husbands disability review and ive been putting it off bc the phone thing is IMPOSSIBLE. gonna check this out!
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Rhett Bowman
I'm sorry but this is WRONG information!!! My brother had to PAY BACK everything when he went back to work! Social Security sent him a bill for $8,400 and garnished his tax refund when he couldn't pay it all back. The system is RIGGED against workers!
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Caleb Bell
•There's a difference between normal benefit adjustments and overpayments. If your brother didn't report his work activity promptly, SSA may have continued paying benefits he wasn't eligible for, creating an overpayment that had to be repaid. That's different from the standard earnings test withholding, which is applied going forward once you report work activity. Also, if he was receiving SSDI (disability) rather than retirement benefits, different rules apply - SSDI has Trial Work Periods and different reporting requirements than retirement benefits.
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Abigail Patel
Does anyone know if you can just not report the income? My cousin works cash jobs and never tells SS anything and still gets his check...
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Sydney Torres
•That is absolutely not advisable and potentially fraud. SSA receives earnings reports from the IRS, so they will eventually discover unreported income from legitimate employers. When they do, they'll assess overpayments with potential penalties. Your cousin might face serious consequences including felony charges if SSA determines there was intentional fraud.
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Daniel White
One thing I didn't see mentioned - you might want to check if your new employer offers any benefits that would be considered "special payments" by SSA. Things like bonuses, accumulated vacation pay, or severance from a previous job aren't counted toward the earnings test limit if they're for work performed before you started receiving Social Security. You need to explain this to SSA though or they might count it against you.
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Alfredo Lugo
•That's a great point I hadn't considered. The new job does include a signing bonus and I'll have some accrued vacation from my previous position that will be paid out. I'll make sure to mention this specifically when I contact SSA.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
just wondering but can you just suspend ur ss benefits voluntary before u start working? my uncle did that i think instead of dealing with the whole earnings test thing
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Caleb Bell
•Yes, that's a good strategy some people use. You can voluntarily suspend benefits when you return to work and then restart them when you fully retire. If you're between 62 and FRA, this approach can avoid the hassle of the earnings test calculations. One advantage is that when you restart benefits later, you'll get a slightly higher amount due to delayed retirement credits for the suspension period. You can request suspension by contacting SSA in writing or by phone.
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Alfredo Lugo
Thank you all for the helpful answers! I'm going to report my expected income to SSA as soon as I accept the job offer. Based on what everyone has shared, it sounds like they'll probably stop my benefits for the rest of this year, but I won't have to pay back what I've already received (as long as I report promptly). And it's good to know my benefits will automatically restart when I fully retire, with some adjustment for the months they were withheld. The monthly earnings test in the first year might help me too since I'd be starting mid-year. Definitely feeling less anxious about this decision now!
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