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How Work Affects

Your Benefits

SSA.gov

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You can get Social Security retirement

or survivors benefits and work at the

same time. But, if you’re younger than

full retirement age, and earn more

than certain amounts, your benefits

will be reduced. The amount that your

benefits are reduced, however, isn’t

truly lost. Your benefit will increase at

your full retirement age to account for

benefits withheld due to earlier earnings.

Spouses and survivors who receive

benefits because they have children who

are minors or have disabilities in their

care, don’t receive increased benefits

at full retirement age if benefits were

withheld because of work.

NOTE: Different rules apply if you receive

Social Security disability benefits or

Supplemental Security Income payments.

Then you must report all earnings to us.

Also, different rules apply if you work

outside the United States. Contact us if

you’re working (or plan to work) outside

the country.

How much can you earn and

still get benefits?

If you were born January 2, 1960 or

later, then your full retirement age for

retirement insurance benefits is 67. If you

work, and are at full retirement age or

older, you may keep all of your benefits,

no matter how much you earn. If you’re

younger than full retirement age, there

is a limit to how much you can earn and

still receive full Social Security benefits.

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If you’re younger than full retirement age

during all of 2023, we must deduct $1

from your benefits for each $2 you earn

above $21,240.

If you reach full retirement age in

2023, we must deduct $1 from your

benefits for each $3 you earn above

$56,520 until the month you reach full

retirement age.

These examples show how the

rules would affect you:

Let’s say that you file for Social Security

benefits at age 62 in January 2023 and

your payment will be $600 per month

($7,200 for the year). During 2023, you

plan to work and earn $23,920 ($2,680

above the $21,240 limit). We would

withhold $1,340 of your Social Security

benefits ($1 for every $2 you earn over

the limit). To do this, we would withhold

all benefit payments from January 2023

through March 2023. Beginning in April

2023, you would receive your $600 benefit

and this amount would be paid to you

each month for the remainder of the year.

In 2024, we would pay you the additional

$460 we withheld in March 2023.

Or, let’s say you aren’t yet at full

retirement age at the beginning of the

year, but reach it in November 2023. You

expect to earn $57,000 in the 10 months

from January through October. During

this period, we would withhold $160 ($1

for every $3 you earn above the $56,520

limit). To do this, we would withhold

the benefit payment for January 2023,

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your first check of the year. Beginning in

February 2023, you would receive your

$600 benefit, and this amount would be

paid to you each month for the remainder

of the year. In 2024, we would pay

you the remaining $440 we withheld in

January 2023.

NOTE: If you receive survivors

benefits, we use your full retirement age

for retirement benefits when applying the

annual earnings test (AET) for retirement

or survivors benefits. Although the full

retirement age for survivors benefits may

be earlier, for AET purposes, we use

your full retirement age for retirement

benefits. This rule applies even if you are

not entitled to retirement benefits.

Your earnings and your benefits —

how much will you get?

The following table gives you an idea

of how much you’ll receive in Social

Security benefits for the year 2023,

based on your monthly benefits, and

estimated earnings.

For people younger than full

retirement age during the whole year

If your

monthly

Social

Security

benefit is

And you

earn

You’ll

receive

yearly

benefits of

$700 $21,240 or

less $8,400

$700 $22,000 $8,020

$700 $24,000 $7,020

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For people younger than full

retirement age during the whole year

$900 $21,240 or

less $10,800

$900 $22,000 $10,420

$900 $24,000 $9,420

$1,100 $21,240 or

less $13,200

$1,100 $22,000 $12,820

$1,100 $24,000 $11,820

What income counts…and when

do we count it?

If you work for someone else, only your

wages count toward Social Security’s

earnings limits. If you’re self-employed,

we count only your net earnings from

self-employment. For the earnings

limits, we don’t count income such as

other government benefits, investment

earnings, interest, pensions, annuities,

and capital gains. However, we do count

an employee’s contribution to a pension

or retirement plan if the contribution

amount is included in the employee’s

gross wages.

If you work for wages, income counts

when it’s earned, not when it’s paid. If

you have income that you earned in 1

year, but the payment was made in the

following year, it shouldn’t be counted

as earnings for the year you receive it.

Some examples are accumulated sick or

vacation pay and bonuses.

5 (over)

If you’re self-employed, income counts

when you receive it — not when you

earn it. This is not the case if it’s paid in a

year after you become entitled to Social

Security and earned before you became

entitled.

Special rule for the first year

you retire

Sometimes people who retire in mid-

year already have earned more than the

annual earnings limit. That’s why there is

a special rule that applies to earnings for

1 year, usually the first year of retirement.

Under this rule, you can get a full Social

Security check for any whole month

you’re retired, regardless of your yearly

earnings.

In 2023, a person younger than full

retirement age for the entire year is

considered retired if monthly earnings are

$1,770 or less.

For example, a person retires at age

62 on October 30, 2023. They will earn

$45,000 through October and takes a

part-time job beginning in November

earning $500 per month. Although their

earnings for the year substantially exceed

the 2023 annual limit ($21,240), they

will receive a Social Security payment

for November and December. This is

because their earnings in those months

are $1,770 or less, the monthly limit

for people younger than full retirement

age. If they earn more than $1,770 in

either November or December, they

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won’t receive a benefit for that month.

Beginning in 2024, only the annual limit

will apply.

Also, if you’re self-employed, we

consider how much work you do in your

business to determine whether you’re

retired. One way is by looking at the

amount of time that you spend working.

In general, if you work more than 45

hours a month in self-employment,

you’re not retired. If you work less than

15 hours a month, you’re retired. If you

work between 15 and 45 hours a month,

you won’t be considered retired if it’s in

a job that requires a lot of skill, or you’re

managing a sizable business.

Should you report changes in

your earnings?

We adjust the amount of your Social

Security benefits in 2023 based on what

you told us you would earn in 2023. If

you think your earnings for 2023 will be

different from what you originally told us,

let us know right away.

If other family members get benefits

based on your work, your earnings

from work you do after you start getting

retirement benefits could reduce

their benefits, too. If your spouse and

children get benefits as family members,

however, earnings from their own work

affect only their own benefits.

If you need help in figuring your

earnings, contact us. When you call,

have your Social Security number handy.

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Will you receive higher monthly

benefits later if benefits are

withheld because of work?

Yes. If some of your retirement benefits

are withheld because of your earnings,

your monthly benefit will increase

starting at your full retirement age. This

is to take into account those months in

which benefits were withheld.

As an example, let’s say you claim

retirement benefits upon turning 62 in

2023, and your payment is $910 per

month. Then, you return to work and

have 12 months of benefits withheld.

We would recalculate your benefit at

your full retirement age of 67 and pay

you $975 per month (in today’s dollars).

Or, maybe you earn so much between

the ages of 62 and 67 that all benefits in

those years are withheld. In that case,

we would pay you $1,300 a month

starting at age 67.

Are there other ways that work

can increase your benefits?

Yes. Each year we review the records for

all Social Security recipients who work. If

your latest year of earnings turns out to be

1 of your highest years, we refigure your

benefit and pay you any increase due.

This is an automatic process, and benefits

are paid in December of the following

year. For example, in December 2023,

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you should get an increase for your 2022

earnings if those earnings raised your

benefit. The increase would be retroactive

to January 2023.

Contacting Us

The most convenient way to do business

with us is to visit www.ssa.gov to

get information and use our online

services. There are several things you

can do online: apply for benefits; start

or complete your request for an original

or replacement Social Security card;

get useful information; find publications;

and get answers to frequently asked

questions.

When you open a personal

my Social Security account, you have

more capabilities. You can review

your Social Security Statement, verify

your earnings, and get estimates of

future benefits. You can also print a

benefit verification letter, change your

direct deposit information, request a

replacement Medicare card, and get a

replacement SSA-1099/1042S. Access

to your personal my Social Security

account may be limited for users outside

the United States.

If you don’t have access to the internet,

we offer many automated services by

telephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a

week, so you may not need to speak

with a representative.

Social Security Administration

Publication No. 05-10069

January 2023 (Recycle prior editions)

How Work Affects Your Benefits

Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense

If you need to speak with someone, call

us toll-free at 1-800-***-**** or at our

TTY number, 1-800-***-****, if you’re

deaf or hard of hearing. A member of

our staff can answer your call from 8

a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

We provide free interpreter services

upon request. For quicker access to a

representative, try calling early in the

day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. local

time) or later in the day. We are less

busy later in the week (Wednesday to

Friday) and later in the month.

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