Will my Social Security benefits increase if I continue working after FRA?
I just started collecting my Social Security at Full Retirement Age (turned 67 in January) but I'm continuing to work at my full-time job. My pay is around $84,000 per year. I know that before FRA there are earnings limits, but now that I've reached FRA, I'm wondering if continuing to work and paying FICA taxes will actually INCREASE my Social Security benefit amount going forward? Will SSA automatically recalculate my benefit each year I continue working? Or does my benefit amount stay fixed once I start collecting at FRA regardless of additional earnings? Thanks in advance for any insights!
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Miguel Diaz
Yes, your Social Security benefit can actually increase! SSA will automatically review your earnings record each year and if your recent work income is high enough to replace a lower-earning year in your top 35 years (which determine your benefit), they'll recalculate and increase your monthly payment. The adjustment happens automatically and would be effective in January of the year following the year you earned the income. You don't need to do anything special to trigger it.
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Ava Rodriguez
•Oh that's fantastic news! I had some lower earning years back in my 30s when I was between jobs, so these current earnings will definitely be higher. Do you know roughly how much of an increase I might see? Just trying to budget for the future.
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Zainab Ahmed
thats right they do increase it but dont get excited its usually pretty small like maybe $20-30 a month tops in my experience
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Ava Rodriguez
•Even a small increase would be welcome! Every bit helps with inflation these days. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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Connor Gallagher
Just to add a bit more detail, the SSA calls this recalculation an "automatic earnings reappraisal operation" or AERO. It typically happens around October of the year after you earn the wages. So if you're working in 2025, any potential increase would show up around October 2026 and be retroactive to January 2026. The amount of increase really depends on your specific earning history and what years are being replaced. If you want a more precise estimate, you can call SSA directly and ask them to calculate a potential AERO increase based on your expected earnings this year.
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Ava Rodriguez
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! Knowing the timing helps a lot. I might try calling SSA to get a more specific estimate, although I'm not looking forward to those infamous wait times...
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AstroAlpha
I tried calling SSA a few weeks ago about my COLA adjustment and spent TWO HOURS on hold only to get disconnected!!! It's IMPOSSIBLE to reach a human there anymore!!! It's like they don't WANT to help us!!
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Yara Khoury
•I had the same problem last month trying to resolve an underpayment issue. After multiple disconnected calls, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at SSA in about 20 minutes. They basically wait on hold for you and call you when they reach an agent. Saved me hours of frustration. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their website is claimyr.com. Worth checking out if you need to speak with SSA about that AERO calculation.
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Keisha Taylor
My husband worked for 3 years after his FRA and his benefit went up almost $175/month total over that time! But he was making around $120k so replacing some really low earning years from the 1980s. The increases weren't equal each year either - bigger the first year, smaller the next two. Depends entirely on YOUR earnings history.
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Ava Rodriguez
•Wow, $175 is significant! My situation might be somewhat similar. I had some years in the 80s where I was earning much less than now. That gives me hope for a meaningful increase. Thanks for sharing your husband's experience!
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Paolo Longo
Quick question to piggyback on this thread - does this same rule apply if you're collecting SSDI and you reach full retirement age? I've been on disability for 12 years but just hit my FRA last month and wondering if I should try working part-time now?
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Miguel Diaz
•That's a different situation. When you reach FRA, your SSDI automatically converts to retirement benefits, generally at the same amount. You can work without earnings limits after FRA, but the AERO recalculations might be less significant in your case since you likely have more zero or low-earning years in your history due to being on disability. But yes, any new substantial earnings could potentially increase your benefit through the same AERO process.
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Zainab Ahmed
dont forget about taxes tho!! if your working full time AND getting SS your probably going to have 85% of your benefits taxed so factor that in
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Connor Gallagher
•This is an important point. With $84,000 in wages plus Social Security benefits, you're very likely to have up to 85% of your SS benefits subject to federal income tax. This doesn't mean you lose 85% - it means that up to 85% of your benefit amount gets added to your taxable income. Make sure you're withholding enough from your combined income sources to avoid a tax surprise next April.
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