Working while collecting Social Security? Here's what could happen to your checks in 2027

Taking a job after claiming Social Security doesn't automatically mean losing benefits, but earning above a certain amount can affect monthly payments. The rules will change slightly in 2027 when the earnings limit rises for people who collect benefits before reaching full retirement age.

How Much Can You Earn While Getting Social Security in 2027

The annual limit will increase to $25,560 next year, up from $24,480 this year. People who reach full retirement age next year will have a higher limit of $67,920 for earnings received before the month they reach that age.

What Happens If You Earn More Than the Limit

People who claim Social Security before full retirement age have $1 withheld from their benefits for every $2 they earn above the annual limit. The earnings test ends in the month they reach full retirement age, after which they can earn without an earnings-based limit on their benefits.


Withheld benefits are not paid back in a lump sum. The Social Security Administration adjusts monthly payments upward after the beneficiary reaches full retirement age to account for months when benefits were withheld.

Claiming Social Security at 62 Could Mean Smaller Checks

Workers can begin claiming Social Security at 62. But doing so can reduce their benefits by as much as 30% compared with payments at full retirement age. For people born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67.

Waiting can increase monthly payments. People who delay claiming beyond full retirement age earn delayed retirement credits. That raises benefits by about 8% for each year they wait up to 70 years. The credits stop accumulating at 70.

Which Income Doesn't Count Toward the Earnings Limit

The earnings limit does not apply to every source of income. Pensions, annuities, interest, dividends, capital gains and withdrawals from individual retirement accounts or other retirement accounts are excluded from the calculation.

Beneficiaries can use the Social Security Administration's earnings test calculator to estimate how their earnings could affect their payments.

Why More Retirees Are Relying on Work to Cover Expenses

Social Security benefits often do not cover all the expenses retirees face. Richard Johnson, AARP's vice president of financial security, told Yahoo Finance that many retirees need additional income because their benefits are not enough to cover typical living costs.

Bradley Schurman, a demographic strategist and author of “The Super Age,” has highlighted longer lifespans, inadequate retirement savings and rising housing, food, insurance and health care costs as challenges for retirees. Social Security's 2027 cost-of-living adjustment is 3.6%, but Schurman said the increase may not keep pace with prices facing many retirees.

Schurman explained that, "We've built a system that practically guarantees that people will have to keep working after they claim. A 3.6% COLA helps, but it trails prices for a lot of retirees," adding, "Many workers haven't saved enough, and people are living longer, so their savings have to cover more years. Put it all together, and a Social Security check stops being a retirement income. It becomes one income source among many," as quoted by Yahoo Finance.