Staying Fit
It might. It all depends on how much you’re making now and how much you’ve made over your working life.
Social Security uses your lifetime average for monthly income, as calculated from your 35 highest-earning years and adjusted to reflect historical wage trends, as the basis for your benefit calculation. Even if you’ve already claimed your benefits, Social Security annually recalculates this average, factoring in any new income from work. If your current earnings fall into your top 35 earning years, your monthly average will rise, and so could your benefit.
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Keep in mind
- Continuing to work may have a benefit downside if you claimed Social Security early. In the years before you reach full retirement age, you are subject to Social Security’s earnings test, which reduces your benefits if your income from work exceeds a set limit ($22,320 in 2024).
- In the year in which you will reach full retirement age, the earnings cap goes up ($59,520 in 2024), and when you pass the milestone birthday, it disappears. Full retirement age is 66 and 6 months for people born in 1957 and 66 and 8 months for those born in 1958, so people born in the last six months of '57 or the first four months of '58 will reach it in 2024.
More on Social Security
How often does Social Security recalculate benefits based on earnings?
Navigating Social SecurityDo I have to pay FICA taxes on my earnings if I also collect Social Security?
Navigating Social SecurityIf I file for Social Security at 62 and continue to work, will my earnings affect family benefits for my spouse and children?
Navigating Social Security