The Withheld Money Isn’t Actually Lost
This is the detail that gives most retirees peace of mind once they understand it: any benefit withheld because of the earnings test is not a penalty. When you reach full retirement age, the SSA recalculates your benefit and gives you credit for every month that was reduced or withheld. In practice, this means your monthly payment increases permanently going forward, as if you had claimed benefits later than you actually did.
If Social Security withheld eight months of your payments between age 62 and 65 because of excess earnings, your benefit at full retirement age is recalculated as though you’d claimed eight months later, later claiming means a higher monthly amount for the rest of your life.
What Counts as “Earnings” for This Test
Only income from actual work counts against the limit. This includes wages from a job and net income from self-employment. It does not include:
- Pension payments
- Retirement account withdrawals (401(k), IRA distributions)
- Investment income, dividends, or interest
- Annuity payments
- Your spouse’s earnings, even if you file taxes jointly
That last point matters a lot for married couples. If you’re the one collecting benefits early, only your individual work income counts, your spouse can earn as much as they want without affecting your check.
That’s Wonderful News
Once he turns 67 you do not have to worry about how much money you can make and not be penalized if you were 65 you would get penalized but not 67
I applied for social security on 9/30 26 I wanted my benefits to start in March. I Turn 67 in February of 2027. I received a letter telling me I will start receiving benefits on January of 2027. I work full time making more then the maximin allowed. How will this affect me.
Dear staff I’m writing because I need extra fund to help with my bills because I’m not working how ever, those companies is lack of work right now thanks!
Social security dude, just as much as criminals as the government is. You pay into this system. So when you get to age, now, they change the age. Social security you suck you suck at what you do and then you try to tell the person who’s worked all their lives but they’re only allowed
A certain amount of money while they work. So what happens now? What happens when a person becomes 67 or boy? Just didn’t quite make it to 70 Cos. That’s what you’re really counting on. You counting on them not to make 70. So you can keep the money that they put into the social security to me. Social security is a big hoax. You grow up all your life thinking. Social security, it’s gonna be there at the end, but they’re not there to be there. At the end, they let the politicians take all the money that was there. And don’t even put the money back and then I got the nerve to tell the citizen we, the people that we don’t have a right. So if that, if I’d see this correctly, how is it that you have all the rights because the law says? So the laws were made up by men. And laws can be changed, just like they change the law of the age of retirement. They can change every other law. Social security doesn’t look out for people’s well beams, they only look out for their own pockets