Working after Full Retirement Age: Is there an earnings limit on Social Security benefits?
I'm turning my Full Retirement Age (FRA) in three months and planning to claim my Social Security retirement benefits then. I've been working full-time for years but would like to scale back to part-time. My question is: once I reach FRA, can I work part-time without any penalty to my SS benefits? I've heard conflicting things - some people say there's no earnings limit after FRA, others say I can only earn a certain amount before they reduce my benefits. I'm expecting about $2,800/month from Social Security and might earn around $22,000 annually from my part-time job. Will this affect my benefits? My financial planner gave me some information but I want to double-check with people who've actually been through this. Thanks in advance!
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CosmicCommander
Good news! Once you reach your Full Retirement Age, there is NO limit on how much you can earn while receiving Social Security retirement benefits. You can make $22,000 or $222,000 - it doesn't matter. The earnings limit only applies BEFORE you reach FRA. Before FRA in 2025, you can earn up to $22,320 without penalty. Beyond that amount, SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn over the limit. But again, this doesn't apply once you hit your FRA. You're free to work as much or as little as you want without affecting your SS benefits. Just be aware that depending on your total income, a portion of your benefits might be subject to federal income tax, but that's a separate issue from the earnings limit.
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Amara Okafor
AuthorThank you so much! That's exactly what I needed to know. So to confirm - I can start collecting my full $2,800/month from Social Security once I hit FRA AND continue working part-time without any reduction in benefits? That's a huge relief. My financial planner mentioned something about taxes, so I'm aware some of my SS might be taxable depending on my total income. But I was worried about actual reductions to the SS payment amount.
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Giovanni Colombo
There ABSOLUTELY IS an earnings limit!!! My brother-in-law got his benefits CUT because he was working too much after his retirement age. The government doesn't tell you this stuff up front but they'll sure take your money later!!! Be VERY careful and keep your earnings LOW or they'll penalize you!!!!
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CosmicCommander
I think there may be some confusion here. The earnings limit ONLY applies BEFORE you reach Full Retirement Age. Are you sure your brother-in-law was already at his FRA? Many people claim early at 62 and are subject to the earnings limit until they reach their FRA (which is 67 for those born in 1960 or later). Once you're at FRA, you can earn unlimited amounts without affecting your Social Security benefits.
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Giovanni Colombo
Well he told me he was at full retirement. Maybe he was confused? All I know is he got a letter saying they were reducing his benefits because he earned too much. It's just like the government to make everything so darn complicated!!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
My wife and I are both past FRA (I'm 68, she's 67) and we both still work part-time. We make about $35k combined annually on top of our SS benefits, and our benefit amounts have never been reduced. The person above is right - there is NO earnings limit once you reach your Full Retirement Age.
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Dylan Cooper
This matches my experience too. Hit my FRA last year (66 and 10 months for my birth year) and kept my part-time consulting gig. Making about $30k a year from that and getting my full SS payment every month without any reductions.
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Sofia Ramirez
i was so confused about this too!! took me forever to get a straight answer from ssa. tried calling them like 5 times and kept getting disconnected after waiting for ages. so frustrating! but yeah once ur at fra u can work as much as u want
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Dmitry Volkov
I had the same awful experience trying to reach SSA by phone! After getting disconnected three times, I tried using Claimyr.com and got through to an agent in under 20 minutes. They have a service that basically waits on hold for you and calls when an agent is ready. Saved me hours of frustration! You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - definitely worth it for anyone who needs to talk to a real person at Social Security.
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StarSeeker
Just to clarify something important - while there's no earnings limit after FRA as others mentioned, your Social Security benefits can still be TAXED if your combined income is high enough. Up to 85% of your SS benefits may be taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits) exceeds $34,000 for individuals or $44,000 for married filing jointly. This isn't a reduction in benefits, just regular income tax.
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Amara Okafor
AuthorThis is a really important distinction - thank you! So SSA will pay my full benefit amount regardless of my earnings, but I might have to pay taxes on more of my benefits depending on my total income. I'll talk to my tax preparer about this since my combined income will probably exceed those thresholds.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
FYI I just turned 70 last month and NOW I'm finally officially retiring from my part-time job lol. Worked the whole time from 67-70 while collecting SS, no problems at all. It was actually nice because I had income from both sources and was able to really build up my emergency savings.
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Sofia Ramirez
my aunt thought the same thing and was only working like 10 hrs a week because she was scared of losing her ss money! when i told her there was no limit she was so mad shed been turning down extra shifts for like a year lol
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Dylan Cooper
There's so much misinformation out there about Social Security! I've heard similar stories from friends who unnecessarily limited their work hours. The SSA really needs to do a better job educating people about the rules.
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Amara Okafor
Thank you all for the helpful responses! This forum has given me more useful information than weeks of researching online. Just to summarize what I've learned: 1) After FRA, there is NO earnings limit that would reduce my Social Security benefits 2) I can work part-time or even full-time if I want without penalty 3) Depending on my total income, a portion of my SS benefits may be subject to federal income tax (up to 85%) I feel much more confident now about my retirement plan. I'll continue working part-time after claiming at FRA, which will give me a nice combination of earned income plus my full Social Security benefit.
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Noah Irving
That's a great summary! I'm glad this community could help clear things up for you. One small additional tip - since you mentioned you're planning to claim at FRA, make sure to apply about 3 months before you want your benefits to start. SSA recommends this timing to avoid any delays in processing. Also, if you haven't already, you might want to create a my Social Security account online to track your estimated benefits and get official documentation. Good luck with your retirement transition!
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