- The SSA uses the following earnings limits to reduce your benefits: If you are under full retirement age for the entire year, the SSA deducts $1 from your benefit payments for every $2 you earn above the annual limit.
- In the year you reach full retirement age, the SSA deducts $1 in benefits for every $3 you earn above a different limit, but they only count earnings before the month you reach your full retirement age.
Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, you can get your benefits with no limit on your earnings.
Use the SSA's Retirement Age Calculator to find your full retirement age based on your date of birth.
What counts as earnings:
When the SSA figures out how much to deduct from your benefits, they count only the wages you make from your job or your net earnings if you're self-employed. They include bonuses, commissions and vacation pay. They don't count pensions, annuities, investment income, interest, veterans benefits or other government or military retirement benefits.