Will my high 2024 wages boost my Social Security at FRA (66+8 months)?
Hi everyone, I'm trying to understand how my recent income affects my Social Security benefits. I've heard that SS indexes your highest wages up until age 60, but I'm confused about what happens after that. I'm planning to retire at my Full Retirement Age (66 years and 8 months), and just this year (2024), I earned my highest salary ever - still under $100,000 but WAY more than I've made in previous years. Since I'm already past 60, will these higher 2024 wages actually count toward increasing my Social Security benefit? Or am I too old for it to matter? I'm worried I've been working harder for nothing if these wages don't boost my monthly check!
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Liam O'Reilly
Your 2024 earnings absolutely can increase your benefit, even though you're past 60! While it's true that wage indexing stops at age 60, SSA still considers your actual (non-indexed) earnings after 60 when calculating your benefit. They take your highest 35 years of earnings throughout your career, and if your 2024 earnings replace a lower-earning year in that calculation, your benefit will increase. This is called the recalculation of benefits. Since you mentioned these are your highest earnings ever, there's a good chance they'll replace a lower year in your benefit calculation.
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Aria Washington
•Oh! That's great news! So I wasn't working harder for nothing. Do they automatically recalculate this or do I need to contact Social Security to make sure they include my 2024 earnings? I was so confused about the whole indexing thing.
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Chloe Delgado
i think your making it way more complicated then it needs to be. SS just uses 35 yrs of what u earned. if 2024 is more $ then some other year it replaces the lower one. thats how my dad got a bigger check when he worked pt after he started getting SS.
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Liam O'Reilly
•You've got the general idea right, but there's a bit more to it. Social Security does use your highest 35 years, but wages before age 60 are "indexed" to account for wage inflation over time, while earnings after 60 are counted at face value (no indexing). But yes, if 2024 earnings are higher than a year being used in the calculation, they will replace that year and potentially increase the benefit.
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Ava Harris
Just to add to the confusion LOL - remember they use a weird formula with "bend points" so adding higher earnings doesn't always increase your benefit as much as you'd think. I replaced a zero-earning year with a $75,000 year and my monthly check only went up by like $40! THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED!!!
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Jacob Lee
•That's because Social Security is designed to be progressive - it replaces a higher percentage of pre-retirement income for lower earners than for higher earners. The bend points in the PIA calculation (Primary Insurance Amount) mean that higher earnings do increase your benefit, but at a declining rate as your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings) increases. It's not rigged - it's working exactly as designed to provide a better safety net for those with lower lifetime earnings.
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Emily Thompson
When I turned 62 last year I had the same question! Called SSA to ask about my recent high earnings and got disconnected four times. So frustrating.
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Sophie Hernandez
•I had the same issue trying to reach them last month. After getting disconnected multiple times, I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a live agent. It worked really well - they called SSA and navigated the phone tree, then called me when they got an agent on the line. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. When I finally spoke to someone, they confirmed that earnings after 60 still count toward your benefit if they're higher than previous years in your top 35.
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Daniela Rossi
Quick question not totally related but ive been working since i was 15 im now 63 does that mean they take the highest 35 years from like 48 years of work? seems weerd that so many years wont even count?
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Liam O'Reilly
•Yes, that's exactly right! Even if you worked for 48 years, they'll only use your highest 35 years of earnings to calculate your benefit. The remaining 13 years won't factor into your calculation at all. This is why working longer can help some people - it gives you the chance to replace lower-earning years (like when you were young and earning less) with higher-earning years later in your career.
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Jacob Lee
To give you a more technical explanation: Your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings) is calculated using your highest 35 years of earnings. Years before age 60 are indexed for inflation, while years after 60 use nominal (actual) values. In your case, if your 2024 earnings exceed the inflation-adjusted values of any of your previous 35 highest years, they will replace that year and increase your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). SSA automatically recalculates benefits when new earnings are posted to your record, but there can be a lag. Your 2024 earnings won't be fully posted until early 2025 after your W-2 is processed. After that, any benefit increase would be automatic and retroactive to January of the year following the earnings (so January 2025 in your case).
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Aria Washington
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! So I won't see any potential increase until sometime in 2025, but it would be retroactive to January 2025? That's really helpful to know. Does this mean I should wait until at least mid-2025 to apply for benefits if I want the calculation to include my 2024 earnings? My FRA is in August 2025.
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Jacob Lee
You don't need to delay your application. If you apply for benefits to start at your FRA in August 2025, your 2024 earnings will definitely be included in your initial benefit calculation. Your earnings from 2024 should be posted to your record by mid-2025, well before your benefits would start. If for some reason they weren't included initially, SSA would automatically recalculate and adjust your benefit retroactively once those earnings are posted.
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Aria Washington
•That's such a relief! I was worried I might need to delay applying or would miss out on the higher amount. Thank you for clearing that up!
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Chloe Delgado
My uncles neighbor kept working til he was 70 and his ss check went up by almost $1000 a month from his first estimate at 62!!!! they say wait if u can afford too
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Jacob Lee
•The increase your uncle's neighbor saw was likely due to three separate factors working together: 1) Delayed retirement credits (approximately 8% per year from FRA to 70), 2) Additional high-earning years replacing lower years in the 35-year calculation, and 3) Any COLAs (Cost of Living Adjustments) that occurred during the delay period. Together, these can indeed result in substantially higher benefits for those who can afford to wait until 70.
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