Social Security Earnings Test in Year of Full Retirement Age

That changes annually, based on national wage trends.

Full retirement age (FRA) is when you qualify for 100 percent of the benefit calculated from your earnings record. People who reach it in 2026 can earn up to $65,160 from work without any deduction from their Social Security benefits. Above that amount, Social Security applies an "earnings test," withholding $1 for every $3 in income.

But Social Security only factors in money you earned before you hit FRA; after that, you get the full benefit you’re entitled to, no matter how much you earn from work.

Here’s an example: You will reach full retirement age in July 2026 but claimed your retirement benefit a year earlier. From January through June 2026, your work income totals $68,000. Social Security would deduct about $947 from your benefits payable for those six months — one-third of the difference between $65,160 and $68,000.

Any income from the second half of the year is not counted. Benefit withholding ends in July, regardless of your earnings, because you have attained full retirement age.. In addition, Social Security adjusts your benefit amount at FRA so that, over time, you recoup what was previously withheld under the earnings test.

Keep in mind

FRA is 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959 and 67 for people born in 1960 and later. You’ll reach it in 2026 if you were born between March 2 and Dec. 31, 1959.
In the years before you reach FRA, your income is subject to more onerous withholding: $1 for every $2 in earnings above $24,480 in 2026. For a quick check on how work income affects your retirement benefits, use Social Security’s Retirement Earnings Test Calculator.
Working while collecting Social Security might lower your benefits before you hit full retirement age, but it might increase them in the long term. That’s because Social Security annually reviews your earnings record, and if that income ranks high in your career history, it will increase your benefits down the road.