All the rules and regulations Social Security has in place can make it difficult to understand all the different programs the agency has available, but some rules are more important than others. One of those rules relates to working and collecting Social Security retirement benefits at the same time. Many people may be unaware that Social Security limits what a worker can earn if they are collecting Social Security retirement payments at the same time. U.S. News and World Report recently released 10 rules everyone should know about Social Security and the earnings limit was one of those rules. The earnings limit rule, which you can see below, allows Social Security to temporarily withhold retirement benefits if you earn too much money from work.
If you work and collect Social Security at the same time before your full retirement age, part of your Social Security payments could be temporarily withheld if you earn more than $17,640 in 2019. Beneficiaries who exceed the earnings limit will have $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 in income above the limit. Those who reach full retirement age in 2019 have a higher earnings limit of $46,920, and the penalty declines to $1 withheld for every $3 in excess of the earnings limit. However, once you turn your full retirement age, there’s no benefit reduction for working and claiming benefits at the same time, and your payments will be increased to give you credit for payments that were withheld in the past.
People who decide to collect Social Security retirement benefits prior to their full retirement age face another penalty not related to work income. Anyone who decides to collect early retirement benefits will receive a reduced amount in monthly benefits, which is dependent on the age in which they decide to start collecting.
