Will my 2024 earnings affect my Social Security benefit calculation if I file in March?

SSA typically calculates your initial benefit using the earnings records they have at the time of processing. If your 2024 W-2 hasn't been processed by the time they calculate your benefit for May, they'll likely issue your payments based on earnings through 2023. Once your 2024 earnings are processed, they'll recalculate your benefit and issue any back pay due. This is standard procedure, nothing to worry about.

ya this happens alot, my brothers retirement was calculated without his last year of work at first but they fixed it like 4 months later and gave him the difference. I think he got like $40 more per month once they added it

This is EXACTLY why the system is so frustrating. Your retirement date shouldn't be tied to when some clerk decides to process your paperwork!! I filed last year and had to wait 5 MONTHS for them to add my final year's earnings. No communication, no updates, just silence until suddenly there was an extra deposit.

I had this exact issue when I filed for benefits last year. My 2023 earnings weren't reflected in my initial payments. I tried calling SSA multiple times to check on the status, but could never get through - just endless busy signals and disconnections. I finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They confirmed my 2023 earnings would be automatically included once processed, and sure enough, I received an adjustment with back pay about 3 months later. If you're anxious about it, I'd recommend reaching out directly. Their video shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

In my experience, having earnings for less than 35 years is actually where you'll see the biggest impact from adding another year of work. Each new year replaces a $0 year in your calculation instead of just replacing a lower-earning year. So yes, your 2024 earnings will definitely matter! But don't worry too much about the timing - SSA is slow but they do eventually get it right.

quick question - did u check your my social security account online? sometimes the earnings record there is different from what they have in their main system. my husband had this issue last yr

Important technical note: SSA performs what's called an Automatic Earnings Recomputation Operation (AERO) annually, usually starting in October of the year following the earnings year. This automated process identifies beneficiaries whose PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) would increase by including additional earnings. For your situation with less than 35 years of earnings, each additional year will almost certainly increase your benefit. The initial difference might seem small (perhaps $20-50 monthly), but remember this compounds with COLAs over your lifetime. If you want to estimate the difference, you can calculate your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings) with and without your 2024 earnings to see the potential impact.

One more thing to consider - make sure you're tracking any Medicare premiums if you're 65+. Those will be deducted from your SS payment and can cause confusion when trying to reconcile the numbers. I got all worked up about my payment being wrong before realizing they were taking out Medicare Part B!

my sister said that she called them when this happened to her and they told her she couldn't do anything but wait. i think its just how the system works