Will Social Security recalculate my benefits after FRA if I keep working and earning more?

Yes, SSA automatically recalculates your benefit amount every year if you continue working after claiming benefits. They look at your new earnings and if they're higher than any of your previous 35 highest earning years, they'll replace one of those lower years with your new higher earnings year. This happens automatically - you don't need to contact them or request it. And there is NO age cutoff for this recalculation. As long as you're working and paying Social Security taxes, those earnings can potentially increase your benefit amount if they're high enough to replace one of your previous 35 years. The automatic recalculation happens each year after your earnings are reported to the IRS.

they do it but the increases are usually tiny, like $5-10 a month, not worth working for IMO

Wait I'm confused. I thought once you file for Social Security, your benefit amount is locked in forever? That's what the guy at my local office told me when I filed last year. Are you saying I could have been getting more money this whole time???

I went through this exact situation! Started benefits at 66 (my FRA) but kept working part-time making pretty good money. My January payment this year went up by $86/month because of my last two years of earnings replacing some lower years from the 1990s. Nice surprise when I got the notice in the mail!

Trying to reach SSA to ask about benefit recalculations is nearly impossible these days. I spent WEEKS trying to get through on their 800 number about a similar question and kept getting disconnected. Finally tried a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a rep in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed they automatically recalculate benefits every year based on new earnings. The recalculation happens in October or November for the previous year's earnings, and any increase takes effect in January.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED!!! They SAY they recalculate but I worked for THREE YEARS after starting my benefits and my payment only went up by $12 total. That's NOTHING compared to what I paid in taxes!!! They're STEALING from us!!!

my dad got an increase last year from his work but it was only like $23 more a month. better than nothing i guess

I have a similar question... I'm turning 62 next month but planning to wait until 67 to file. If I stop working at 64, will the years between 64-67 count as zeros in my calculation? Or do they only count the years up until I stop working?

Thank you all for the helpful information! It's great to know this happens automatically. It sounds like the timing of the recalculation is around October/November for the previous year's earnings, with payment increases taking effect in January. And I'm relieved there's no age cutoff! I think in my case the increases might be meaningful since I'll be replacing some very low earning years from when I first started working. I'll make sure to keep track of my benefit amounts each January to see if they increase.

Just wanted to add another data point - I've been collecting benefits for 4 years now while working part-time, and my monthly payment has increased three times during that period. The increases were $18, $31, and $22 respectively. Not huge amounts, but over time it does add up to meaningful extra income. One thing I learned is that you can actually check your earnings record online through your my Social Security account to see how your recent earnings compare to your historical record. It helps you estimate whether continued work might boost your benefits. The automatic recalculation really does work as described here!

As someone new to understanding Social Security benefits, this thread has been incredibly informative! I had no idea that benefits could be recalculated annually based on continued earnings - I always thought once you filed, that was it. A few follow-up questions for the group: Does the recalculation process work the same way for spousal benefits? And for those who have experienced these automatic increases, do you receive any detailed notification from SSA explaining which year was replaced and how the new calculation was done, or is it just a brief notice that your payment amount changed? Also, is there any downside to continuing to work after claiming benefits beyond the obvious tax implications? I'm wondering if higher lifetime earnings could affect Medicare premiums or other benefits down the road.

This is such valuable information! I'm 64 and planning to file at my FRA but was worried about how part-time work might affect things. Reading through everyone's experiences really clarifies the process. One thing I'm curious about - for those who've gotten these automatic increases, roughly how long after the end of the tax year did you see the increase show up? I know several people mentioned October/November recalculations with January effective dates, but I'm wondering if there's any variation in timing. Also, has anyone here ever had a situation where their benefits went DOWN due to a recalculation? I assume this shouldn't happen since they only replace lower earning years with higher ones, but just want to make sure I understand correctly that these recalculations can only help, never hurt your benefit amount. Thanks to everyone sharing their real-world experiences - it's so much more helpful than trying to wade through the official SSA publications!