You can claim your Social Security and still work, but depending on your age when you claim and how much money you earn at your job, will determine whether your benefit will be decreased or not. If you claim at your Full Retirement Age or older, and you continue to work, you will not have to worry about giving back any of your received Social Security benefits because you made too much money from your job. But if you claim your benefits at an age younger than your Full Retirement Age and continue to work, in that case you will be subjected to the “Earnings Test”, and depending on how much money you earn, you may have to give back some, most or all of your received benefits.

Your Social Security Full Retirement Age is determined by the year you were born and it can vary between age 66 to age 67. For this example, I am going to assume that you were born in 1963, which would give you a Full Retirement Age of 67.

$23,400 - Earnings Limit in 2025 

In 2025, the earnings limit for someone who claimed their benefits before their Full Retirement Age but continued to work, is $23,400. For every $2 of earned income in excess of that amount, you will have to give back $1 of received Social Security benefits. The earnings test only applies to earned income or income you receive from a job, it does not apply to things like investment income or rental income. It also only applies to your earned income, if you are married, your spouse’s earned income would not be included in the Earnings Test, only your earned income. 

Let’s look at an example of how the earnings test works. According to your Social Security Benefit statement, if you wait to claim your benefit at your Full Retirement Age of 67, you will receive a monthly benefit of $2,500.

$1,750 per Month at age 62

But if you decide to claim your benefit as early as possible at age 62, your benefit will be reduced to $1,750 per month.

$54,900 – Earned Income

While you are collecting your monthly benefit of $1,750, you continue to work and have annual earned income from your job of $54,900.

$54,900 - $23,400 = $31,500

The amount of your earned income exceeds the Earnings Test limit of $23,400 by $31,500 ($54,900 - $23,400).

$31,500 x 50% = $15,750

In order to determine the amount of your received benefits you will have to give back, you either divide the $31,500 of excess earned income by 2 or multiple it by 50% and the result is $15,750.

$15,750 Divided By $1,750 = 9 Months

Because of the earnings test you will have to give back $15,750 of your Social Security benefits, which also happens to be 9 months worth of benefit payments, $15,750 divided by $1,750 = 9.

You will not have to write a check to Social Security at the end of the year for $15,750. At the beginning of the year, Social Security will ask you to estimate the amount of money you will receive from your job that year. Based on that estimate, Social Security will determine the number of monthly benefit payments you will have to give back, in your case they will estimate that you will have to give back 9 full months of benefit payments.

Receive Your First Benefit Check for the Month of October

That being the case, Social Security will not send you your first benefit check for the first 9 months of the year, so you will receive your first benefit check for the month of October. 

Do Not Permanently Lose Those Benefits

It is important to note that you do not permanently lose those benefits that you had to give back. When you reach your Full Retirement Age or retire from your job, which ever one comes first, Social Security will recalculate the amount of your monthly benefit.

Returned 3 Full Years Of Benefit Payments

If you claimed your reduced benefit at age 62 and continued to work and made roughly the same amount of money over the next 5 years, you would have returned 36 months of benefit payments or 3 years worth. Remember, ever year you had to give back 9 months of benefit payments and 9 x 4 = 36 months or 3 years. 

Returned 9 Months Of Benefit Payments Every Year For the 4 Year Period Between Age 62 – 66

You would have given back a full 9 months of benefit payments every year between age 62 – 66.

$62,160 – Earnings Limit For Year You Turn Age 67

You would not have to give back any benefits during the calendar year in which you would turn age 67. That is because the calendar year in which you reach your Full Retirement Age, the earnings limit is increased to $62,160 and for every $3 of earned income in excess of that amount, you have to give back $1 of received benefits. If your earnings stayed relatively the same at $54,900 for the year, that is less than the $62,160 limit for the year in which you turn 67, so during that year you would not have to give back any of your received Social Security benefits.

Full Retirement Age & Older – No Earnings Limit

Once you reach your Full Retirement Age, the Earnings Test no longer applies it goes away. In other words, you can collect your benefits, continue to work and make as much money from your job as possible and you will never have to give back any of your received Social Security benefits.

You Don’t Lose Those Benefits Forever

Remember, you don’t permanently lose the benefits you had to give back because you made too much earned income. 

Age 62 + 3 Years = Age 65

From age 62 to your Full Retirement Age of 67, you had to give back a full 3 years of received benefit payments. In order to recalculate your benefit, Social Security will take those 3 years and add them back to you original claiming age of 62. Age 62 plus 3 years equals age 65.

Increase Monthly Benefit to $2,166

Social Security will recalculate your benefit as if you originally claimed it at age 65, which would increase your monthly benefit to $2,166 per month. When you originally claimed your benefit at age 62 you only received $1,750 per month, once you reached your Full Retirement Age of 67, Social Security recalculated your benefit as if you originally claimed it at age 65 and increased it to $2,166, which you will receive for the rest of your life.

At first glance, it appears that the Earnings Test is a bad thing, if you make too much money and have to pay back some or all of your received benefits. But come to find out you don’t lose those returned benefits forever. You will receive them back over time when Social Security recalculates your benefit once you reach your Full Retirement Age and pays you a larger monthly benefit for the rest of your life.