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Income Limit If You Work and Collect Social Security Before Your FRA - The Motley Fool
Some retirees who begin Social Security benefits choose to return to work for extra income or to stay active.
You can start Social Security at 62, but payments may decrease if you keep working. Starting benefits before full retirement age (FRA) subjects you to an earnings limit. For 2026, the limit is $24,480. Exceeding this amount results in Social Security withholding $1 for every $2 earned over the limit.
There is also a monthly limit of $2,040. This monthly limit is typically used when you retire mid-year and continue earning income for part of the year. If you elect to use the monthly limit, only income earned after you start receiving benefits is counted, rather than including all earnings for the entire year. However, if your earnings exceed the monthly limit by even $1 for a month, Social Security will require repayment of your benefit for that month.
The good news is, if benefits are withheld because you exceed the earnings limit, you don’t lose them. When you reach FRA, Social Security recalculates your benefits as if you started many months later.
The income limit in the year you reach FRA is $65,160, ending in your FRA month.
Christy Bieber has written an article on this topic; you can read it by clicking here…
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