What's Happening
15 mins ago

Is Spirit Airlines Worth the Gamble Amid Bankruptcy Fears?

foolfool.com
21 mins ago

Is Nu Holdings Stock a Buy Before Nov. 13?

foolfool.com
27 mins ago

SoFi Stock Sinks Despite Upbeat Outlook. Should Investors Buy the Dip?

foolfool.com
33 mins ago

3 No-Brainer Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Right Now

foolfool.com
39 mins ago

Is UPS Stock a Buy?

foolfool.com
43 mins ago

Should You Buy Nvidia Stock Before Nov. 20? The Evidence Is Piling Up, and Here's What It Suggests.

foolfool.com
45 mins ago

Don't Forget About These 2 Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Rule Changes for 2024

foolfool.com
45 mins ago

Should You Ignore Chevron and Buy This Magnificent High-Yield Energy Stock Instead?

foolfool.com
1 hour ago

1 Wall Street Analyst Thinks The Trade Desk Stock Is Going to $150. Is It a Buy?

foolfool.com
2 hours ago

1 Little-Known Social Security Rule Could Boost Your Monthly Check Up to 26.7%, Even if You're Already Collecting Benefits

foolfool.com
2 hours ago

1 Little-Known Social Security Rule Could Boost Your Monthly Check Up to 26.7%, Even if You’re Already Collecting Benefits

retireretire.ly
2 hours ago

Trump Vs. Harris: A Nail-Biting Pre-Election Showdown

benzingabenzinga.com
2 hours ago

Kim Jong Un's Sister: Ukraine And South Korea Are 'Bad Dogs' Bred By US

benzingabenzinga.com
2 hours ago

Trump's Provocative Rhetoric Fuels Gender Dynamics

benzingabenzinga.com
2 hours ago

Is Nvidia a Buy?

foolfool.com
3 hours ago

Don't Ever Use This Word Around Mark Cuban: 'You Sound Stupid ... Because You're Trying To Sound Smart'

benzingabenzinga.com
3 hours ago

Will ASML Be a Trillion-Dollar Stock by 2030?

foolfool.com
3 hours ago

Elon Musk's Mother Does Harris Impression During TV Appearance

benzingabenzinga.com
3 hours ago

Where Will C3.ai Stock Be in 5 Years?

foolfool.com
4 hours ago

Scaramucci Says Trump 'Should Be Taken Into Custody' Over Alleged Threat Against Liz Cheney

benzingabenzinga.com

54% of Future Retirees Risk Losing Some of Their Social Security Benefits

Many working Americans have a plan that could cause them to lose some of their future Social Security benefits. That plan has to do with working while collecting Social Security retirement checks.

Here’s what you need to know about working while on Social Security and why it could lead to a temporary loss of some or all of your benefit checks.

Older adult working with laptop while sitting on a large wooden bureau.

Image source: Getty Images.

Over half of all current workers are at risk of forfeiting benefits

According to research from the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, an estimated 54% of current workers indicate they plan to keep working even after they have officially retired. This includes 16% who intend to work full time as well as 38% who are interested in working at least part time.

Working while in retirement may seem like a great way to bring in extra money, especially if you have a savings shortfall. The problem comes, though, with the Social Security rules that apply if you have a job and bring in income while you are under full retirement age (FRA) and collecting Social Security benefits at the same time.

See, the rules allow you to work as much as you want to without your Social Security payments being impacted — but only after you have reached full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

Many people will retire before then, and if you do and plan to double dip by getting benefits and a paycheck at the same time, you could be faced with an unpleasant surprise.

Your earnings determine if you’ll lose part of your Social Security benefits

Those who plan to work while on Social Security need to understand the work limits that apply:

  • If you won’t reach FRA for the whole year, you can earn up to $23,400 in 2025 or $22,320 per year in 2024. You will lose $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above these amounts.
  • If you’ll reach FRA sometime in the year but are working before it, you can earn up to $62,160 in 2025 or $59,520 in 2024 before losing $1 in benefits for every $3 earned above that amount.

These work limits adjust upwards in most years, so if you’re a few years away from retirement, you can expect them to be higher by the time you get there. There will still be a cap, though, and if you exceed it, you temporarily forfeit some Social Security income.

The Social Security Administration will withhold entire checks to cover the reduction in benefits, and if you earn too much, you could end up entirely losing access to Social Security checks for the time being. You do get credited back early-filing penalties for any month you don’t receive a check, though, so your benefits will increase after FRA if you miss out on some Social Security payments due to working too much.

Still, for the 54% of Americans planning to work in retirement, the fact that this puts their Social Security at risk is likely to come as unwelcome news, especially if they were hoping to have multiple-income streams coming in to support their lifestyle in their later years.

The $22,924 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you’re like most Americans, you’re a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known “Social Security secrets” could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $22,924 more… each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we’re all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

View the “Social Security secrets” »

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Related Posts

Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs offer valuable tax breaks, but they also come with a lot of rules. These rules apply not only to

You might not realize it, but your Social Security check isn’t set in stone once you claim benefits. On top of the annual COLA, which

Image source: The Motley Fool/Upsplash Most credit cards make it expensive to borrow money. On credit cards that are charged interest, the average rate is

Image source: Upsplash/The Motley Fool Mortgage rates are lower today than they were a year ago. Last October, the average 30-year loan rate was over