Retirement

How You Can Grow Your Social Security Benefits Beyond Retirement Age

November 30, 2017 • By

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Last Updated: November 3, 2023

man and woman outside on laptop 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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About the Author

Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications

Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications

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Comments

  1. Joyce

    I just need to know how much I can earn while still getting social security checks. The money social security is paying me is not enough to suppose my family

    • A.C.

      Thanks for your question, Joyce. If you were born January 2, 1943, through January 1, 1955, then your full retirement age for retirement insurance benefits is 66. If you work and are full retirement age or older, you may keep all of your benefits, no matter how much you earn. If you are younger than full retirement age, there is a limit to how much you can earn and still receive full Social Security benefits. In 2019, that limit is $17,640. We must deduct $1 from your benefits for each $2 you earn above $17, 640. If you reach full retirement age during 2019, we must deduct $1 from your benefits for each $3 you earn above $46,920 until the month you reach full retirement age. For more information and examples of how this works, please see our publication, How Work Affects Your Benefits. We hope this helps.

  2. John A.

    I began to receive my SS at age 62 (my request, because I was forced to retire early and need money). I will be 90 shortly, I have received my increases when you make them but I often wonder if there has been any changes or updates available to me which have not been aware of, please comment, thank you.

    John

    • A.C.

      Hi, John. If a person begins to receive benefits at age 62 or prior to their full retirement age, their benefits are reduced. The reduction factors are permanently applied to all of the benefits the person may qualify for. In the other hand, if you continue to work while receiving retirement benefits, your monthly benefit amount could increase. Each year, we review the records for all working Social Security recipients to see if additional earnings may increase monthly benefits. To learn more read our publication, How Work Affects Your Benefits. For any specific questions regarding your case, please call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday to have one of our representatives assist you. We hope this information helps!

  3. Linda

    I went on social security early because I had to collect it for a disability. I went back to work part time in 2018 is there any change in my income now?

    • V.V.

      Hi Linda. As long as you continue to work and receive benefits, we will check your record every year to see whether the additional earnings will increase your monthly benefit. If there is an increase, we will send you a letter telling you of your new benefit amount. You can call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 for further assistance. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thanks!

  4. Angel C.

    I had a plan. A good plan with my Social security but when i applied for Social Security Benefits I was hit by the UNEXPECTED…I am 64 years old. I try to apply for my Social Security Benefits (SSB) every year since I was 62. Every time I applied they coerce me into NOT getting my SSB. They do this by telling me that I can either have my SSB or Medicaid for my son but not both. They tell me is my choice. I either request for my SSB and my son’s Medicaid is suspended or my son gets Medicaid and I get no SSB. My son is terminally ill with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; without Medicaid he will die. In my eyes this subjects have nothing to do with each other. I have over 40 points accumulated, meaning I have worked all of my life. I am retired military with several wars under my belt. Now that I retired I do not like them giving me a coerce choice and telling me I have to choose; either my SSB or my son’s life. Apples and Oranges – not the same. Why?

  5. Susie M.

    Can I claim my benefits at age 63, and when I turn 65, claim my husbands?

    • A.C.

      Thanks for your question, Susie. If you are eligible for retirement benefits on your own record, we pay that amount first. If the benefit on your spouse’s record is higher, you will get an additional amount on that record so that the combination of benefits equals that higher amount. Find more information at our “Retirement Planner: Benefits for You as A Spouse.” We hope this helps.

  6. Carol B.

    Where can I find out about “Silver Sneakers”?

  7. david e.

    i retired at 62 how many quarters do i have to work to increase my social security payments i have be working since i turned 69 now working full time?

  8. David M.

    I became eligible for social security in 2012 and started receiving it in 2012. I have been able to work some part time jobs the last few years and continue to pay into social security, last pay check $100 was deducted for social security! Will I ever see any additional increase beside the cost of living raise we get once in a while.

  9. Leslie F.

    I originally became disabled and applied for SSDI in 1997 when I was 50 years old. When I became 65 in 2015, my diability designation disappeared but the rate remained the same.

    Am I eligible for higher benefits?

  10. Karen k.

    I think I was the victim of a scam

Comments are closed.