How You Can Grow Your Social Security Benefits Beyond Retirement Age
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: November 3, 2023
For more and more Americans, reaching retirement age no longer means the end of an active working life. Many people are choosing to work past the age of 65, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If you’re willing and able, maintaining gainful employment later in life could go a long way toward ensuring a secure future for you and your family. Besides providing you with additional income to pay your bills, extending your employment or working for yourself could boost your lifetime Social Security benefits.
Here’s how:
Whether you’re still working or not, waiting to claim your Social Security retirement benefits could grow them significantly. Through delayed retirement credits, your monthly benefit amount increases for each year you wait between your full retirement age and 70. Full retirement age is between 65 and 67, depending on when you were born. To learn more about delayed retirement credits, please visit our Retirement Benefits page.
You get credits on your earnings record for each year of additional work income. Once you start receiving retirement benefits, we’ll automatically review your earnings record each year to determine if you’re entitled to an adjustment. When we calculate your retirement benefit amount, we use your best 35 years of earnings. We’ll increase your benefit amount if your new year of earnings is higher than one of the years we used to calculate your initial benefit amount. To see how we calculate your benefits, see our publication, Your Retirement Benefit: How It’s Figured.
An increased benefit amount for yourself could mean more support for your family, too, through Social Security spousal benefits, child benefits, and survivor benefits.
We also encourage you to set up your own online my Social Security account so you can verify your lifetime earnings record, check the status of an application for benefits, and manage them after you’re receiving them. You can create your personal my Social Security account today.
Social Security is committed to helping you prepare for a secure today and tomorrow for you, your family, and future family. You can access all of our retirement resources on our Retirement Benefits page.
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Tags: my Social Security, my Social Security account, retirement, retirement benefits, Social Security benefits, SSA, survivors benefits
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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salvatore m.
im still working and paying into the system . will i get a raise in benefits? i collected soc sec early at 62 but still working at 70.
David D.
why do I have to wait till I’m 66.8 to draw my social security benefits at a 100% I have worked for over 40 years and have put my time in. I just want to draw at age 62. Not my fault miss management or others that haven’t put anything into the system are getting benefits at the cost of people like me who have worked for it?
Raymond W.
My wife will not come close to having enough credits to draw Social Security. What happens to the money that she has paid in to it.
Thank you.
Sunny
I’m currently an RN on Social Security Disability, eventually turning over to regular Social Sercurity, should I try to increase my income once I turn over from SS Disability TO regular Social Sercurity?
Ray F.
Hello Sunny. Disability payments are established at the highest rate possible, based on your earnings, prior to becoming disabled. Social Security disability benefits automatically change to retirement benefits when disability beneficiaries attain their full retirement age. Generally, the benefit amount will remain the same.
Please visit our Benefits Planner: Getting (Retirement) Benefits While Working web page for complete information on this topic.
In April we celebrate “National Social Security Month“, see what you can do online at http://www.SocialSecurity.gov. Thanks!
Franco N.
Hello, how are you? M question is, if I retire now at 65 years old per example with 300 dollars a month, but if I still working for 3 years more, my monthly retired will grow ? I ask you because few months ago I talked with a representative of SSA employ, he said NO. Now I am confuse, can you explain to me better please? Thank you so much !
Ray F.
Hello Franco. Generally, if you continue to work while receiving retirement benefits, your monthly benefit amount may increase. Each year, we review the records for all working Social Security recipients to see if additional earnings may increase monthly benefits. If your earnings for the prior year are higher than any of the years that were used to compute your retirement benefit, we will recalculate your benefit amount. If an increase is due, a new monthly benefit amount is established on your record automatically.
In April we celebrate “National Social Security Month“, see what you can do online at http://www.SocialSecurity.gov. Thanks!
Brian L.
If I retire at age 63 and 4 months but choose not to draw out Social Security funds until age 66 and 4 months ( I won’t be working therefore not contributing) how do calculated any projected monthly growth to my future payments when I start .?.
Ray F.
Hello Brian, our Retirement Estimator is exactly the calculator you are looking for! It gives you future estimates of your monthly Social Security benefits based on your actual Social Security earnings record.
In addition, we have a variety of other calculators to help you plan for the future. Which calculator you choose depends on what you want to do.
Also, we suggest that you create a my Social Security account. With your personal my Social Security account, you can verify your earnings, get your Social Security Statement, and much more. Happy planning!
Betty J.
When will i receive my retirement benefit and Medicaid card thank you Miss Betty Gray
Monalisag21
If I retired early from Federal employment and I receive CSRS pension, and I am now employed paying into Social security, how much could I expect to receive from Social Security after working 10 years in the public sector? How much will my Social Security benefits be limited?
Richard C.
If my wife files a restricted application and files for half of the benefits I am receiving will it be half of the benefits I am receiving since I didn’t file till age seventy??
Delroy D.
I took an early retirement how much can I make a-year working without being penalized working part-time I’m 63 years old.