Social Security is withholding money from my retirement benefit because I'm still working. Will I get that money back?

Yes, but not in a tidy lump sum. What Social Security does instead is increase your benefit when you reach full retirement age to account for the previous withholding.

Full retirement age, or FRA, is when you become eligible for 100 percent of the benefit amount calculated from your lifetime earnings. (FRA is 66 and 6 months for people born in 1957, 66 and 8 months for those born in 1958, and gradually rising to 67 over the next few years.) If you file before that, Social Security lowers the percentage of the benefit amount.

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During this “early retirement” period you also forfeit benefits if you continue to work and your earnings exceed an annual limit. In 2024 the cap is $22,320, and you lose $1 in benefits for every $2 in earnings above it. When you reach FRA, Social Security will begin making up for the withholding by giving you credit for the months when you lost benefits.

Suppose you turn 62 in 2024 and claim Social Security. Your monthly benefit is $1,200 and you earn $27,500 annually through a part-time job. For the year, Social Security withholds $2,590 from your payments (half of the $5,180 that exceeded the earnings limit). That works out to about 2 months of benefits lost.

Now suppose you continue to lose 2 months of benefits a year until you reach full retirement age — that's 67 for people like you who were born in 1962. That works out to an estimated 10 months of withheld benefits. When you hit FRA, Social Security will reset your benefit as if you’d filed 50 months early rather than 60. (The difference, if you’re keeping score, is that you get 70 percent of your “full” benefit at 60 months early, 74.2 percent at 50 months.)

The extra years you worked will further boost your benefit payment if they rank among your 35 highest-earning years. This will increase your lifetime average for monthly income, the figure that is the basis of your benefit calculation, in turn raising your benefit amount.

Keep in mind

• The earnings limit only applies if you are under full retirement age. Social Security does not withhold any money from your benefits if you keep working after FRA.

• You won’t see the boost from that benefit reset immediately after your FRA date. Social Security will start the higher monthly payment the following January.