Working while collecting Social Security at FRA - will $62K salary affect my benefits?
I hit my full retirement age back in January and started collecting Social Security in April. The thing is, I'm still working full-time and will earn about $62,000 this year. I've been hearing conflicting things from coworkers about whether I'll lose some of my SS benefits because of my earnings. Some say once you hit FRA, you can earn whatever you want, others say there's still some kind of limit? I'm planning to fully retire next April, but now I'm worried I might get hit with some kind of penalty or benefit reduction. Does anyone know for sure how this works? Will I have to pay back some of my benefits because of my salary this year?
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
Good news! Once you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA), there is NO earnings limit that affects your Social Security benefits. You can earn as much as you want without any reduction to your benefits. The earnings test only applies to people who collect before their FRA. Since you started collecting in April AFTER reaching your FRA in January, you're completely in the clear. Your $62K salary won't affect your benefits at all. The only thing to consider is that your benefits might be subject to income tax depending on your combined income, but that's different from having your benefits reduced.
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Giovanni Rossi
•Thank you so much for clearing that up! That's a huge relief. I was getting stressed thinking I might have to pay back some of my benefits. So just to double check - even though I'm making $62K this year while also collecting Social Security, there's absolutely no penalty or reduction?
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Dylan Mitchell
ur good buddy! once u hit that magic FRA number they dont care how much u make. i went thru this last year myself, kept working full time + got my ss checks no problem. only thing u gotta watch is taxes, they might take a bigger bite outta ur check when all totaled up
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Sofia Gutierrez
•This is right but be careful about TAXATION which is different than benefit reductions! My brother didn't realize 85% of his SS became taxable when his income went up and got a nasty surprise at tax time!!!
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Dmitry Petrov
I'm in almost the EXACT same boat!!! Hit my FRA last December, started benefits in February, and still working making around $58K. I was TERRIFIED about this too but then found out that the earnings limit COMPLETELY DISAPPEARS once you hit full retirement age. Isn't that amazing? The Social Security lady even told me I could make a million dollars and they wouldn't take a penny from my benefits. Now I'm not stressed at all about working this last year before I fully retire in February. Your April retirement date sounds perfect - that's when I originally planned to stop too!
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StarSurfer
The previous responses are correct. At Full Retirement Age (FRA), the earnings test no longer applies. However, I want to add an important point: if your earnings are substantially higher than in previous years, it could actually increase your benefit amount in the future. Social Security calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If this $62K year replaces a lower-earning year in your top 35, your benefit could be recalculated and increased the following year. You don't need to do anything special for this to happen - SSA automatically reviews earnings each year and makes adjustments if warranted. So your continued work may actually boost your benefits slightly going forward!
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Giovanni Rossi
•I had no idea this could actually HELP my benefits! That's fantastic news. My early career earnings were much lower, so this year might replace one of those years. Does anyone know how much difference this typically makes to monthly benefits?
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Ava Martinez
While everyone is correct that there's no earnings limit after FRA, I just want to mention that calls to SSA about benefit calculations can be incredibly frustrating. I spent 3 weeks trying to reach someone when my benefit amount seemed off after working past FRA. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It saved me so much frustration when I needed to confirm how my continued work would affect my benefit calculation. If you want to double-check anything about your specific situation, it's worth knowing about.
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Miguel Castro
•thanks for mentioning this! i've been calling for DAYS trying to figure out if my work history is being calculated right. gonna check this out
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Dmitry Petrov
Wait I'm confused now... I thought SSI had different rules than regular Social Security??? My neighbor gets SSI and she said she can only make like $1,700 a month before they reduce her benefits. Is retirement Social Security different than SSI??? Sorry if this is a dumb question!!
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
•Great question! SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI/retirement benefits are completely different programs even though they're both administered by SSA. SSI is a needs-based program for people with limited income and resources. It does have strict income limits that reduce benefits. Retirement benefits (what the original poster is receiving) are based on your work history and what you paid into the system. Once you reach FRA, there are no earnings limits. So you and your neighbor are both right about your respective benefits!
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Sofia Gutierrez
One thing nobody mentioned - your Medicare premiums might go up in 2027 if your income is high enough in 2025. It's called IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount). For individuals, if your income goes over $103,000, you pay higher Medicare premiums. Just something to keep in mind for future planning since you mentioned making $62K this year.
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Giovanni Rossi
•Oh wow, I hadn't even thought about Medicare premium adjustments. I'm still a year away from Medicare eligibility so this is helpful to know. Thanks for bringing this up!
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Dylan Mitchell
my uncle got a letter from SS saying they paid him too much cuz of his job even tho he was at FRA and now they're taking $$$ back every month... im thinking maybe something else is going on with his situation but just saying maybe double check with SSA directly
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StarSurfer
•Your uncle's situation sounds unusual for someone over FRA. The most likely explanation is either: 1) He started benefits before reaching FRA and had high earnings during the months before his FRA 2) There was an error in how his benefits were calculated initially 3) He received some other type of Social Security benefit with different rules But to reassure the original poster - if you started benefits after reaching FRA, working will definitely not reduce your benefits or create an overpayment situation.
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Giovanni Rossi
Thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses! I feel so much better knowing I won't lose any benefits due to my earnings. I'll definitely keep the tax implications in mind though - I hadn't considered that 85% of my SS might be taxable with my income level. The news that my higher earnings might actually INCREASE my future benefits is a great bonus I wasn't expecting! I'm going to look into that Claimyr service too since I'd like to confirm everything directly with SSA before tax time. This community is amazing - I got better information here than from all the confusing articles I tried reading online!
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