Retirement is always a challenge and a goal for all people who perform any type of work activity. However, once this moment arrives, pensioners must continue to meet a series of requirements and conditions, established by Social Security, in order not to lose the benefits granted to them by the Administration. In fact, according to current legislation, when a person starts to receive retirement benefits from Social Security, they are considered to have retired by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
However, for retirees over 65 years of age, this situation does not prevent them from continuing to work, but there is something very important they should bear in mind: if they report earnings above the established limits, they could lose their Social Security benefits. Therefore, from the month in which they reach the full retirement age, their earnings will no longer reduce their benefits, regardless of how much each person earns. The SSA will recalculate the total amount of their benefit to give them credit for the months in which benefits were reduced or withheld due to excess earnings.
How to collect the maximum Social Security pension?
When people reach the legal retirement age, they are entitled to collect a pension, provided that they have met the requirements established by Social Security. Likewise, this amount will be higher or lower depending on the number of years that the worker has been working and in line with the earnings obtained during their professional career. Therefore, not all claimants have the opportunity to collect the maximum Social Security retirement pension, although there is a way to do so.
According to the Administration, in order to receive the full benefits from Social Security, the institutions in charge of these matters register each application to find out and report the salary for the previous year. Thus, the benefit of each applicant is recalculated from time to time and any increase that may correspond to them is paid, retroactive to January of the year after they earned that amount. Therefore, in order to obtain the maximum amount of Social Security retirement pension, potential beneficiaries must meet the requirements established for each case, as well as submitting the necessary documentation to prove that they have met the Social Security requirements.
How to deduct earnings from benefits?
In the United States there is a legal way to deduct earnings from Social Security benefits, so that pensioners may be entitled to a higher amount than initially established. However, it is the Public Administration that decides on these types of situations, based on the fundamental requirement of each candidate’s retirement age.
Therefore, if you are under the full retirement age and earn more than the annual income limit, the administration can reduce the amount of your benefit according to this proportion:
- Before full retirement age: for every $2 you earn above the annual limit, $1 is deducted from your benefit payments. By 2025, that limit is $23,400.
- In the year you reach full retirement age: $1 in benefits will be deducted for every $3 you earn above a different limit. In 2025, this limit is $62,160. Only earnings up to the month before reaching full retirement age are counted.
