Social Security Earnings Test in Year of Full Retirement Age

That changes annually, based on national wage trends. People who reach full retirement age (FRA) in 2025 — the age at which you qualify for 100 percent of the benefit calculated from your earnings record — can earn up to $62,160 from work without any deduction from their Social Security benefits. Above that amount, Social Security will withhold $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 claimed Social Security in 2023 and will attain full retirement age in July 2025. From January through June 2025, your work income totals $65,000. Social Security would deduct about $947 from your benefits payable for those six months — one-third of the difference between $62,160 and $65,000.

Any income from the second half of the year is not counted. You can collect your full benefit from July on, regardless of your earnings, because you have attained full retirement age..

Keep in mind

In the years before you reach FRA, your income is subject to more onerous withholding: $1 for every $2 in earnings above $23,400 in 2025. 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.