How Does the Earnings Test Apply to Social Security Benefits?
Choosing when to take your Social Security benefits — whether that moment is before, at, or beyond your Full Retirement Age (or Normal Retirement Age) — could be one of the most important decisions you will make for your retirement income plan.
Why is knowing your Full Retirement Age (FRA) so critical? Claiming your Social Security benefits prior to reaching your FRA results in a reduction of your benefit, a reduction that lasts for your entire life. Since Social Security is likely to be the largest “income asset” for many people, understanding what could reduce that payout, and potentially how to avoid that reduction, is paramount.
It’s not just that. If you are working and take Social Security benefits before attaining your Full Retirement Age, the Social Security Administration will also reduce your benefits payments should your earnings exceed certain limits. This is called the “Earnings Test” by the SSA and financial professionals. According to Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, 53% of workers plan to work past 65, and 56% plan to work after they retire.
Given that lots of Americans have working plans for their retirement future, how could the Earnings Test affect their benefits payments? For one, it isn’t clear to many people exactly what earnings apply toward the Earnings Test — and therefore what could affect their benefits payouts. Read More
