Will Social Security recalculate my benefit to include 2024 earnings? Started in November

Yes, the SSA will automatically recalculate your benefit amount to include your 2024 earnings, but it won't happen immediately. They typically do this recalculation in the latter part of the following year (so sometime in 2025) after they receive your W-2 information from your employer. If 2024 is indeed one of your highest 35 years, it will replace a lower year in your AIME calculation, which could increase your monthly benefit. The increase would be retroactive to January 2025, so if the adjustment happens in, say, October 2025, you'd also receive a small lump sum for the difference between your old benefit amount and new amount for those months.

They NEVER automatically do ANYTHING correctly!!!! I had to FIGHT with them for 8 months to get my earnings record updated after I retired. My last year working was a good one too and they just IGNORED it in my benefit calculation!!!!! Call them NOW and INSIST they include those earnings or you'll be waiting FOREVER. The system is BROKEN!!!

The SSA automatically reviews earnings records each year when new W-2s are processed. This usually happens between September-November of the following year. In your situation, your 2024 earnings would be reviewed in late 2025, and if they increase your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), you'll receive an adjustment. One thing to note is that earnings in the year you begin receiving benefits may not have as large an impact as you might expect. The SSA uses a complex formula where your earnings are indexed for inflation, so $23,000 from 1985 is actually worth more in the calculation than the raw number suggests. Still, with $105,000 replacing a lower year, you should see some increase. You can estimate the potential increase by creating an account at my.ssa.gov and using their calculators, or by calling SSA directly to ask them to run a computation with your estimated 2024 earnings.

same boat! retired in December and made 93k last year. my neighbor told me it takes about a year for them to adjust your benefit but its automatic. dont listen to the people saying you need to call and fight about it - thats only if your w2 has errors

I experienced this exact situation last year. SSA did recalculate my benefit automatically, but it took until November 2024 to see the adjustment for my 2023 earnings. The increase was modest (about $47 more per month), but they also sent me a retroactive payment for the difference dating back to January 2024. If you're really anxious about this, you could try calling SSA, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a lot of patience. Instead, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 15 minutes after I'd wasted days trying to get through on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU But honestly, unless there's an error on your earnings record, you can just wait for the automatic adjustment.

my dad said they sent him a letter when they adjusted his benefit. came outta nowhere like 10 months after he started collecting. he got an extra $28 a month which isnt much but its something lol

Quick question to add on to this thread - does anyone know if this also applies to SSDI? I became disabled in 2024 which was also my highest earning year but I'm not sure if the same recalculation happens for disability as it does for retirement benefits?

Just to follow up on your question about how much difference it might make: replacing a $23,000 year from 1985 with $105,000 from 2024 will definitely increase your benefit, but the exact amount depends on your overall earnings history. For a rough estimate, the additional earnings might increase your monthly benefit by approximately $25-75. The reason it's not more dramatic is that: 1. The SSA indexes your past earnings for inflation, so that $23,000 from 1985 is actually valued much higher in today's dollars. 2. Social Security uses a weighted formula that gives you less credit for higher earnings. 3. The increase would only reflect the difference between your new calculation with 2024 earnings and your old calculation without them. Still, every bit helps, especially with inflation!