Here's what you should know about working and receiving Social Security benefits.
It's easy to associate collecting Social Security benefits with retirement, but you can actually work while receiving benefits. It doesn't come without some temporary drawbacks but it largely depends on when you applied for benefits.
Your full retirement age is 67 if you were born on or after Jan. 2, 1960, but you can begin to collect Social Security benefits as early as 62. The "issue" with working while receiving benefits before your full retirement age is that a portion of your monthly payment from the Social Security Administration is withheld from you. The key word is "withheld" -- it's not actually taken from you.
Below, we'll break down what happens when you work and collect your retirement benefits at the same time, and the changes that will happen as time goes on.
For more, don't miss the Social Security payment schedule and what to do when your Social Security check never arrives.
What happens when you collect benefits while working
If you're working, collecting Social Security benefits and below your full retirement age, your benefit payment will be reduced. The SSA will withhold $1 from every $2 you earn above the annual limit. For 2025, it's $23,400.
The SSA's guide on how work affects your benefits offers a chart to give you an idea of how much you can receive based on your benefit amount and earnings.
| Social Security benefit | Earnings | You'll receive yearly benefits of |
|---|---|---|
| $700 | $23,400 or less | $8,400 |
| $700 | $24,000 | $8,100 |
| $700 | $26,000 | $7,100 |
| $900 | $23,400 or less | $10,800 |
| $900 | $24,000 | $10,500 |
| $900 | $26,000 | $9,500 |
| $1,100 | $23,400 or less | $13,200 |
| $1,100 | $24,000 | $12,900 |
| $1,100 | $26,000 | $11,900 |
If you will reach full retirement age in 2025, $1 for every $3 earned above $62,160 will be withheld. The SSA will only count earnings up to the month before you reach your full retirement age and not earnings for the entire year. That's because beginning the month you reach your full retirement age, your earnings will no longer reduce your benefit amount, no matter how much you're bringing in.
Working while receiving Social Security increases your benefit later on
If you worked and received benefits before your full retirement age, the month you reach that age, the SSA will recalculate your benefit amount in order to give you credit for the months your benefits were withheld. So, you can effectively raise your benefit amount when you reach 67 by working before your full retirement age.
That's not the only way to raise your monthly benefit amount.
When you initially apply for Social Security retirement benefits, the SSA will take the 35 years you earned the most money throughout your working life and determine your monthly benefit amount based on those years.
Now, say you continue to work and receive benefits, and you earn more money in 2025 than in any one of the previously calculated highest earned 35 years – one of those would be removed and replaced with your 2025 earnings, and it would be factored in, resulting in a larger monthly benefit amount. If your earnings change while you're receiving benefits, you are responsible for contacting the SSA and reporting any increase (or decrease) in annual earnings you expect to receive.
And lastly, beneficiaries can also always look forward to the Social Security COLA (cost-of-living) increase to raise their benefit amount, even if it is a minor one, like this year.
How do I apply for retirement benefits?
If you think you're ready to apply for retirement benefits, you should start by creating a My Social Security account and find the "apply for benefits" page. You can also check out our guide on how to apply for Social Security retirement benefits, too.
For even more on Social Security and retirement, don't miss out on the things you should know decades before you retire.
