Will Social Security recalculate my retirement benefits after working past FRA with higher earnings?
I hit my full retirement age (67) last year and started collecting Social Security, but I'm still working full-time. Here's the interesting part - I actually got promoted after retirement and now I'm earning about $86,000 annually, which is significantly more than what I made during most of my career (I averaged around $65,000 before). I'm wondering if SSA automatically recalculates my benefit amount based on these higher post-retirement earnings? Will they review my record every year and potentially increase my monthly payment if these higher earnings replace lower ones in my 35-year calculation? Or do I need to specifically request a recalculation? I'm planning to work for 2-3 more years, and if these higher earnings could boost my monthly benefit, that would be great to know! Thanks for any guidance.
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Nasira Ibanez
Yes, SSA automatically recalculates your benefit amount every year. I went through this exact situation. The recalculation happens automatically and if your recent earnings are higher and replace a lower earning year in your top 35, your benefit will increase. The adjustment usually happens around October of the following year after they process your tax returns. You'll get a letter in the mail telling you about any increase. The best part is that there's no reduction for working after FRA - you get to keep all your earnings AND potentially increase your benefit amount! In my case, I saw about a $75 monthly increase after working one year past my FRA with higher earnings.
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Hugo Kass
•Thanks so much! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Do you know if the increase is retroactive to January of the year they make the adjustment, or does it only start from the month they process it?
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Khalil Urso
my friend said they DONT do it automatic, you have to call them and ASK for the recalculation!!! dont listen to the other person, SSA never does anything automatic right lol
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Myles Regis
•This isn't accurate. The Social Security Administration does automatically recalculate benefits annually after they receive earnings information from the IRS, typically in the year following when the wages were earned. This is called an Automatic Earnings Reappraisal Operation (AERO). The adjustment appears in benefit payments around October of the following year. No phone call or special request is needed for this recalculation. However, it's always a good idea to check your earnings record periodically through your my Social Security account to ensure all earnings are properly recorded.
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Brian Downey
i retired at FRA in 2023 but keep working part time. After reading ur post im worried now cause i didnt know they would redo the calculations?? does this mean my benefits could go DOWN if im not making as much now?? i only work about 20 hrs a week now making like $30k which is way less than before i retired when i was making $75k. will they LOWER my ss payment???
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Nasira Ibanez
•Don't worry! Your benefit will never go DOWN because of additional work. The recalculation can only INCREASE your benefit (or stay the same). If your current earnings don't replace any of your previous 35 highest years, then your benefit stays exactly the same. The calculation always uses your 35 highest earning years, so lower earnings after retirement won't reduce your payment.
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Jacinda Yu
The process you're referring to is called the Automatic Earnings Reappraisal Operation (AERO). Here's how it works: 1. SSA automatically reviews your record each year when new earnings are posted 2. If your new earnings are higher than any of the 35 years used to calculate your original benefit, they'll replace a lower year 3. Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) will be recalculated 4. Any increase will be retroactive to January of the year following the year with higher earnings 5. You'll typically see the adjustment in October's payment, with back payments included Keep in mind that at higher earnings levels, each additional dollar has less impact on your benefit amount due to the progressive nature of the benefit formula. Still, it's certainly worth having those higher earnings counted. One important note: make sure all your earnings are properly reported on your tax returns so they'll be correctly reflected in your Social Security record.
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Landon Flounder
•Wow that's so interesting, I never knew they had a special name for this process (AERO). Does this mean everyone's record gets reviewed annually, or just people who are already collecting and still working?
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Landon Flounder
I had a neighbor who tried to get his benefit recalculated after working 2 years past his retirement and he said it was a NIGHTMARE dealing with Social Security!!! He kept calling and calling and getting disconnected. Said he finally had to go to the office in person multiple times. This was like 5 years ago though so maybe they fixed their systems by now???
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Callum Savage
•I found an awesome service that helps you get through to Social Security quickly if you're having trouble reaching them. It's called Claimyr and they get you a callback from SSA without the typical 2+ hour hold times. I used it when I needed to check on my benefit recalculation. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows exactly how it works. It saved me SO much frustration - you don't have to spend all day trying to get through or visit an office in person.
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Khalil Urso
How many years do you have to work to get to the 35 years anyways? I only worked for 31 years total. Does that mean they put in 4 years of ZEROS for me? That seems unfair!!!!
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Jacinda Yu
•Yes, if you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, SSA will use zeros for the remaining years to reach 35. This is part of the standard calculation method. The good news for the original poster is that their higher earnings now will have an even greater impact if they had any lower-earning years or zeros in their original calculation. Each year of higher earnings that replaces a zero or very low earning year will provide a more significant benefit increase.
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Hugo Kass
Thank you all for the great information! I'm relieved to hear the recalculation happens automatically. After reading your responses, I checked my Social Security statement online and noticed I had a couple of years early in my career with very low earnings, so these new higher-earning years should definitely help boost my benefit. I've marked my calendar for October 2026 (after I plan to fully retire) to make sure I see the final adjustment. Such a relief not having to navigate the SSA phone system to request this! For those suggesting I monitor my earnings record - definitely good advice. I'll make a habit of checking my mySocialSecurity account annually to verify everything's recorded correctly.
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Myles Regis
•That's a smart approach. One additional tip: when you do see the benefit increase, double-check that it seems reasonable based on which years were replaced. While the AERO process is automatic, occasional errors do occur. If the new amount seems significantly different than what you expected (either much higher or lower), it might be worth contacting SSA for clarification, as they can provide a detailed breakdown of your recalculation.
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