Will my Social Security benefit amount increase if I keep working after claiming early at 62?

Your benefit can definitely increase even after you start collecting. The SSA will automatically recalculate your benefit amount each year if your recent earnings are higher than any of the 35 years used in your original benefit calculation. This recalculation happens regardless of whether you've already started receiving benefits. So if you're making more now than you did earlier in your career, some of those lower-earning years could be replaced, potentially increasing your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Just keep in mind that early filing reduction still applies permanently - you'll always get the reduction percentage based on claiming at 62.

I started SS at 62 while working and my benefit went up $47 last year because of my higher earnings! But they still take out money when I go over the limit which is REALLY ANNOYING. sometimes i wish i just waited till full retirement age 🤦‍♂️

The earnings limit is such a pain to deal with. I've been calling the SSA every few months trying to make sure they're calculating my withholding correctly based on my estimated earnings. Half the time I can't even get through to a live person, and when I do, I get different answers! I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes. I had been trying for days before that! You can check them out at claimyr.com - there's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

i didn't understand this at all when i filed early! nobody told me that earnings would increase my benefit even after filing. i would have worked more these past 2 years if i knew that! the ssa really needs to explain this stuff better when we apply

Just want to add something important here - while your benefit CAN increase if you're replacing lower-earning years in your calculation, there's a special rule when you're subject to the earnings test (before FRA). In years where some benefits are withheld due to excess earnings, SSA will actually give you credit back for those months when you reach your Full Retirement Age. This means your early filing reduction gets partially adjusted, which can lead to a benefit increase at FRA. So you're actually getting a double potential increase - both from higher earnings AND from the adjustment to your reduction factor when you reach FRA.

This is all too confusing!!! I just turned 62 and everyone keeps giving me different advice about when to file. I'm still working part-time making about $18,000 a year. Should I file now or wait??? My neighbor said I should definitely wait until FRA but my brother says take it as soon as possible?????

My husband and i both claimed at 62. The benefit increases from our continued work were pretty small tbh. Maybe like $15-25 a month extra each year. Better than nothing but not life changing. Just sharing our experience.

One more thing to consider in your planning: if your current earnings are significantly higher than earlier in your career, working even just 1-2 years past age 62 before filing might give you a better long-term outcome than filing at 62 while working. This is because those high-earning years would immediately be included in your initial benefit calculation rather than being added through recalculations later. The early filing reduction is permanent (apart from the adjustment at FRA for withheld benefits), so starting with the highest possible base amount can be advantageous.

This is such valuable information! I'm in a similar situation - turning 62 next year and still earning good money. One thing I've learned from researching this is that the SSA sends you an annual statement showing any benefit increases from your continued work, usually around December. They call it the "Social Security Benefit Statement" and it shows if your Primary Insurance Amount changed due to additional earnings. It's worth keeping these statements to track how your benefits are growing over time, especially if you're planning to work several more years after claiming early.

This is such a helpful discussion! As someone approaching 62 myself, I've been wrestling with the same decision. One question I have - when the SSA does these annual recalculations to potentially increase your benefit, do they automatically notify you of the increase or do you need to check your my Social Security account to see the changes? Also, I'm curious about the timing - if I file in January at 62 but then have a high-earning year that same year, would that year's earnings be included in a recalculation for the following year's benefits? The timing aspect seems important for planning purposes.

This thread has been incredibly informative! I'm 61 and considering my options for next year. One aspect I haven't seen mentioned is how this interacts with spousal benefits. If I claim early at 62 while still working and my benefit increases due to higher earnings, does that also increase the potential spousal benefit for my wife when she becomes eligible? Also, I'm wondering about the tax implications - if my benefit amount increases each year due to continued work, does that affect how much of my Social Security becomes taxable income, especially if I'm still earning wages? These annual recalculations seem like they could have some ripple effects beyond just the monthly payment increase.

This has been such an eye-opening discussion! I'm 60 and had no idea about so many of these nuances. One thing I'm curious about - for those who have experienced these annual benefit increases from continued work after filing early, how significant were the increases typically? I'm trying to get a sense of whether the extra income from working (minus what gets withheld due to the earnings test) plus the eventual benefit increases actually make it worthwhile compared to just waiting a few more years to file. Also, does anyone know if there's a cap on how much your benefit can increase through these recalculations, or could it theoretically keep going up each year as long as you keep earning more than your lowest years in the calculation?

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm 59 and starting to plan my Social Security strategy. One thing I'm wondering about - for those who filed early while working, how did you manage the uncertainty of not knowing exactly how much would be withheld each year due to the earnings test? I'm concerned about budgeting if my monthly Social Security payment could vary significantly based on my annual earnings. Did anyone set up estimated payments to SSA to avoid owing money back, or did you just deal with the withholding as it happened? Also, I'm curious if anyone has experience with how the SSA handles bonuses or irregular income - do they use your actual annual earnings or do they estimate based on monthly/quarterly amounts?

This discussion has been so informative! I'm 61 and had been leaning toward waiting until FRA, but now I'm reconsidering after learning about the annual recalculations and the credit you get back at FRA for withheld benefits. One thing I'm still trying to wrap my head around - if I file at 62 and work for 3 more years with benefits being withheld due to the earnings test, then at 67 they adjust my reduction factor as if I filed at 65 instead of 62, do I also get the benefit of those 3 years of higher earnings being included in my calculation? It seems like you could potentially get a pretty significant bump at FRA from both the reduction adjustment AND the higher earnings years being factored in. Has anyone experienced this double benefit, and if so, was the increase substantial enough to make the early filing strategy worthwhile?

This has been such an enlightening thread! I'm 60 and honestly had no clue about most of these nuances around Social Security and continued work. Reading about the double benefit potential at FRA (reduction adjustment + higher earnings recalculation) is fascinating - it really changes how I'm thinking about the timing of when to file. One question I haven't seen addressed: if you're self-employed rather than a traditional W-2 employee, does the earnings test work the same way? I run a small consulting business and my income can vary quite a bit year to year. Also, for the annual recalculations based on higher earnings, do they use your net self-employment income after business deductions, or is it based on gross earnings? I imagine the variability of self-employment income could make the earnings test calculations more complex, but I'm hoping the benefit increases from higher earning years would work the same way. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world insight that's so hard to find elsewhere!

This thread has been incredibly valuable! As someone who just turned 62 and is still working, I had no idea about the complexity of how Social Security interacts with continued employment. The information about annual recalculations potentially increasing benefits even after filing early, combined with the adjustment at FRA for withheld benefits, completely changes my perspective on the timing decision. I'm particularly interested in what @Diego Castillo mentioned about getting credit back for withheld months - that seems like it could significantly reduce the penalty for early filing if you're still working. My situation is similar to the original poster - I'm earning more now than ever before in my career, so it sounds like I could benefit from both the higher earnings replacing lower years AND the reduction factor adjustment. Does anyone know if there are good online calculators that can model these scenarios, or is this something where you really need to speak with an SSA representative to get accurate projections? Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical information that's missing from the official SSA publications!