Three Common Ways Your Social Security Payment Can Grow After Retirement
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: June 21, 2018
You made the choice and now you are happily retired. You filed online for your Social Security benefits. They arrive each month in the correct amount exactly as expected. But, did you ever wonder if your Social Security check could increase?
Once you begin receiving benefits, there are three common ways benefit checks can increase: a cost of living adjustment (COLA); additional work; or an adjustment at full retirement age if you received reduced benefits and exceeded the earnings limit.
The COLA is the most commonly known increase for Social Security payments. We annually announce a COLA, and there’s usually an increase in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit amount people receive each month. By law, federal benefit rates increase when the cost of living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI-W). More than 66 million Americans saw a 2.0 percent increase in their Social Security and SSI benefits in 2018. For more information on the 2018 COLA, visit our website.
Social Security uses your highest thirty-five years of earnings to figure your benefit amount when you sign up for benefits. If you work after you begin receiving benefits, your additional earnings may increase your payment. If you had fewer than 35 years of earnings when we figured your benefit, you will replace a zero earnings year with new earnings. If you had 35 years or more, we will check to see if your new year of earnings is higher than the lowest of the 35 years (after considering indexing). We check additional earnings each year you work while receiving Social Security. If an increase is due, we send a notice and pay a one-time check for the increase and your continuing payment will be higher.
Maybe you chose to receive reduced Social Security retirement benefits while continuing to work. You made the choice to take benefits early, but at a reduced rate. If you exceeded the allowable earnings limit and had some of your benefits withheld, we will adjust your benefit once you reach full retirement age. We will refigure your payment to credit you for any months you did not receive payments. Your monthly benefit will increase based on the crediting months you receive. You can find additional information about working and your benefit by reading What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits.
Retirement just got more interesting since you learned about potential increases to monthly payments. Social Security has been securing your today and tomorrow for more than 80 years with information and tools to help you achieve a successful retirement.
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Tags: retirement, retirement benefits
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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ROBERT W.
I have worked 2 jobs since 2001
one with the state of new york
one as a private practice physician(ie self employed)
with the state of new york i paid FICA taxes as an employee
as a private practice self employed physician i paid FICA taxes as the employee and employer
so i essentially was two different people doing two different jobs
and now as oct 2018 i retired from my nys job
i am still a self employed physician paying both ends of FICA
i waited until 70yo to start collecting my full SS benefits( from age 67 i took partial payouts from my spouse’s benefits)
YET when i look at my earnings history dating back to 1965 the 4 years of $0 (zero) income i had from 1978-1981 when i was in medical school they are still there and i have not seen a noticeable increase in my full SS benefits as i have continued to work and pay FICA(as 2 different people so to speak)
when will these increase and those zero income years be replaced?? as stated above in the article above ‘THREE COMMON WAYS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS CAN INCREASE AFTER RETIREMENT’
is there anything i have to do?? will you answer this or do i have to contact social security personally??
thank you robert w burdick, md
R.F.
Hello Robert. Unfortunately, and because of security reasons we do not have access to personal records in this blog and cannot answer your question at this time. One of our representatives should be able to provide you with an explanation. Please call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 for assistance. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Generally, you will have a shorter wait time if you call later during the day or later in the week. Or contact your local Social Security office. Thanks!
ROBERT W.
thank you will do as you suggest
ROBERT W.
why has no one replied to my nov 7 2018 question(s)
Carroll B.
Will there be a COLA in the coming year 2019, and if so, how much and when would you get it?
R.F.
For more details about the new COLA, visit http://www.ssa.gov/cola. Thanks!
Violet P.
I applied for Social Security benefits in 2015, but because I worked in Canada (17 years) prior to getting married and moving to the United States and working for 21 years, my Social Security was reduced. I did not then, nor do I now fully understand why this was done, as my Canada Pension and Old Age Security benefits in Canada were reduced as well, so I do not currently receive the full benefits to which I was entitled based on my years of working in Canada or the United States.
My question is:
Am I entitled to additional Social Security benefits?
Thank you
Violet Parker
(972-948-0912)
R.F.
Hello Violet. Unfortunately, and because of security reasons we do not have access to personal records in this blog and cannot answer your question at this time. One of our representatives should be able to provide you with an explanation.
We recommend that individuals living outside the United Sates contact the nearest Federal Benefit Unit or U.S. embassy in their area for assistance related to Social Security benefits. You can also use the Canadian Service Area Directory to determine which Resident Office is near you. We hope this information helps!
I g.
Instead of receiving the cola for 2018 they take and added to Medicare payment ($134) the cost of living is for every retired people but the state increase the Medicare payment that not fair to people who work and pay taxes and social security the people on SSI know making more money and benefit then US they didn’t work one day in this country they didn’t pay taxes or social security they receive near $900.00 dollars a month with almost free housing $230.00 and IHHS to help them plus all kind of free items but us we are paying big rent more than I receive from my SSA plus utilities plus food plus everything that most cover my retirement fro working not even $950.00 we are the working people who work and retired to be helped don’t take our cola and add for Medicare payment give it to us, have you check the busses who go to the casino look inside see the people who going to gambling not US who is struggling to pay bill ,rent, and using credit card to pay for food and other thing even we have to buy dental insurance ($590.00)a year . God bless you and have a nice day . Meantime I am disabled and 77 year old I can’t find a job to cover my expenses and help me to live a little bit better..
Doris G.
Why am I not eligible to receive my former retired spouse of 22 years? Please explain.
R.F.
Hello Doris. Unfortunately, and because of security reasons we do not have access to personal records in this blog and cannot answer your question at this time. One of our representatives should be able to provide you with an explanation. Please call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 for assistance. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Generally, you will have a shorter wait time if you call later during the day or later in the week.
For information on the requirements for Divorced Spouse’s Benefits, read “If You Are Divorced“. Thanks!
leah j.
i woul like more info for myself
Richard M.
So called COLA “ cost of living “ raise
barely covers the Medicare increase.
P H.
What if due to circumstances, you had to take your SSI, before the retirement age, can you get that money when you fo reach the right age for retirement. I had to take my SSI at 62, I will be 65 in February 2019. Any options.
R.F.
Hello! When a person begins to receive benefits at age 62 or prior to their full retirement age, their benefits are reduced. These reduction factors are permanently applied to all of the benefits the person may qualify for.
Nannette S.
Please send me information by mail because I do not use my work e-mail for personal business.
Thank you
R.F.
Hello Nanette. Please call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 for assistance. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Generally, you will have a shorter wait time if you call later during the day or later in the week.
Just a reminder – We do not have access to personal information, therefore, we do not do direct messaging in this venue. Please be cautious about posting personal information on social media and communicating personal information via email. Thanks!
David G.
If continuing to work after starting to receive SS Benefits, is your income automatically reviewed and benefits adjusted, or do you need to request a review??
R.F.
Great question, David. Each year, we review the records for all working Social Security recipients to see if additional earnings may increase their monthly benefits.
When you apply for retirement benefits, we base your benefit payment on your highest 35 years of earnings and your age when you start receiving benefits. If your earnings for the prior year are higher than one of the years we 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. See “Getting Benefits While Working” for more information. Thanks!