Will my Social Security increase by working past FRA? Recalculation impact vs. COLA raises
Hi everyone, I hit my full retirement age (67) last year and started collecting Social Security but I'm still working full-time. My accountant mentioned something interesting - she said my monthly SS amount might increase because my current income is higher than some of my earlier years in the 35-year calculation. Has anyone actually seen this happen? I'm making about $89,000 now, which is definitely higher than what I made in the early 90s even accounting for inflation. I'm curious how much of a bump I might see if this is true? The SSA website mentions recalculations but doesn't give examples of actual increases people have gotten. Just wondering if it's worth continuing to work for this reason among others.
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Ava Williams
Yes! This happened to me and it's not talked about enough. I kept working after my FRA (mine was 66) and saw my benefit increase by $138/month after two years of additional work. My earnings from 2022-2023 replaced some lower earnings from the 1980s. The SSA automatically recalculates this each year - you don't have to do anything. The increase shows up after they process your W-2 for the previous year, usually around October-November in my experience.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•That's amazing! $138/month is substantial - that's over $1,600 a year. I didn't realize the increase could be that significant. Did you notice it happening after just one year or only after multiple years of working post-FRA?
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Raj Gupta
i think ur confusing this with the cola increases everyone gets. ssA gives everyone a raise each year based on inflation. last year was 3.2%. thats probably what ur friend saw not because they were working
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Ava Williams
•No, these are two completely different things. The COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) happens for everyone regardless of work status. What the original poster is asking about is benefit recalculation based on additional high-earning years. When you work past FRA and earn more than in previous years that were part of your original 35-year calculation, the SSA will automatically recalculate and potentially increase your benefit amount. I've experienced both - the annual COLA increase AND separate increases from continued work.
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Lena Müller
I can confirm this is real, but the amount varies widely depending on your specific earnings history. The SSA takes your highest 35 years of indexed earnings to calculate your benefit. If you're earning significantly more now than your lowest-counted year (after indexing for inflation), you'll see an increase. My increase was modest - about $47/month after my first full year of post-FRA work. That's because only one year of my earnings history was being replaced, and the difference wasn't enormous after indexing. But I've heard of people getting $100+ monthly increases when their current salary is MUCH higher than their early career earnings. The recalculation happens automatically the year after you file your taxes. You'll get a letter from SSA when it happens.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Even $47/month adds up over time. Do you know if they look at just your highest earning years overall, or is there some other calculation? I'm trying to figure out if I keep working 2-3 more years if I'd see increases each year or if it would plateau.
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TechNinja
They NEVER told me bout this when I signed up!!!! I worked 3 years past my FRA and nobody at SS office mentioned I'd get more $$$. How do I know if I got the increase??? Do I need to call them and ASK for it?? The whole system is designed to HIDE benefits from us!!!!
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Keisha Thompson
•The recalculation is automatic - you don't need to call or request it. You can check if you received increases by looking at your benefit verification letter year to year (after accounting for COLA increases). But I understand your frustration - SSA doesn't do a great job explaining all these details during the application process. If you want to verify you received proper credit for those 3 years, you can request an earnings record through your mySocialSecurity account online. If those earnings are correctly shown on your record, the recalculation would have happened automatically.
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Paolo Bianchi
I had this exact situation. I kept working past FRA (66+2mo for me) and saw my benefit increase after the first full year. My monthly payment went up by about $83 after they recalculated based on my 2023 earnings replacing a much lower year from the 1980s. One thing to understand: the increase doesn't happen immediately after you earn the money. The SSA doesn't do the recalculation until they receive your W-2 information the following year. Then it takes several months for them to process it. In my case, I saw the increase show up in October 2024 for my 2023 earnings. If you're having trouble reaching the SSA to ask about this (their phone lines are ALWAYS jammed), I found a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to a representative quickly. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. I used it to confirm that my recalculation had been processed correctly - totally worth it to avoid hours on hold.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•Thanks for the detailed explanation and timeline! That's helpful to know it might take until October to see any changes based on this year's earnings. I'll check out that Claimyr service too - I've definitely had the endless hold experience with SSA before.
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Yara Assad
When I turned 70 last year my sister told me I had to call SS and apply for an increase but when I called they said I didn't need to do anything special for working years just for delayed credits. Now I'm confused again lol. Getting old is not for wimps!
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Keisha Thompson
•Your sister was partially right, but mixing up two different things. For delayed retirement credits (waiting past FRA to start benefits), you used to have to apply for those if you didn't start benefits yet. But now that process is mostly automatic too. For the benefit recalculation due to continued work (what this thread is about), you never need to apply - it happens automatically after your taxes are processed each year. So in your case, the SSA representative gave you the correct information.
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Keisha Thompson
To directly answer your question: The dollar amount increase varies widely because it depends on: 1. How much higher your current earnings are compared to your lowest indexed year in your current benefit calculation 2. How many years you continue working post-FRA with these higher earnings 3. Where those replaced earnings fall in your overall 35-year calculation Some technical details: When SSA calculates your benefit, they index your past earnings to account for wage inflation, take the highest 35 years, average them monthly (AIME), and then apply a formula to get your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). The formula is progressive, meaning lower earnings get replaced at a higher percentage than higher earnings. So replacing a very low earnings year might give you a bigger percentage boost than you'd expect. Based on what I've seen with clients (I'm a retirement planner), increases typically range from $25-150 per month for each year of substantial post-FRA work that replaces a significantly lower year.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•This is extremely helpful - thank you for breaking down the technical aspects. Given my current income vs. my early career earnings in the late 80s/early 90s, it sounds like I might see a meaningful increase. Appreciate the expertise!
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Raj Gupta
my brother in law kept working til 72 and got extra $230 a month from his original amount when he was 66. he made like 120k at his job tho so prolly depends on how much u make
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Lena Müller
•Your brother-in-law's experience is on the higher end of what I typically see, but definitely possible with high current earnings replacing very low early-career years. The $230 increase was probably the cumulative effect of multiple years of post-FRA work, not just from a single year's recalculation. Thanks for sharing a real example!
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Zainab Mahmoud
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I'm definitely going to continue working a few more years - between potentially increasing my SS benefit, building up my 401k a bit more, and enjoying my job, it makes sense for me. It's nice to know the recalculation happens automatically too.
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Ava Williams
•Sounds like a good plan. Just make sure to check your benefit statement each year to confirm you're seeing both the annual COLA increases AND any additional increases from the earnings recalculation. Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart since they might happen around the same time.
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