Will My Social Security Increase if I Keep Working After Applying? – Ask Rusty

Dear Still Working: Whenever you claim your Social Security benefit, SSA will look at your lifetime earnings record on file at the time (as received from the IRS) and calculate your “primary insurance amount” (PIA) using that record on file. They will use your highest earning 35 years to do that calculation and, if you do not yet have 35 years, they will use “zero $$” enough times to make it 35 years. In other words, your benefit will always be calculated using 35 years, whether you actually have 35 years of earnings on record, or not.  

However, Social Security revisits your earnings record whenever additional information is received from the IRS, so if file your taxes and add the additional year’s income after you start your Social Security benefits, you will get credit for those additional earnings. Essentially, you will be replacing one of the “zero $$” years originally used to calculate your benefit amount, and Social Security will recalculate your monthly amount to reflect that, resulting in an increase to your monthly benefit.  

Thus, as long as you work and earn and report your earnings to the IRS, Social Security will update your record and automatically give you a higher benefit if warranted by your more recent earnings. That recalculation usually happens later in the year (after April 15th), but Social Security will make any increase retroactive to the beginning of the calendar year, so you will get any higher benefit effective with January. 

So, since you have already reached your full retirement age (FRA), you can (if you wish) apply for Social Security now and be confident that Social Security will give you credit for any additional earnings after you apply.  And for clarity, if you choose to wait beyond your full retirement age to claim, you will earn Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) which will continue to increase your monthly benefit amount until you are 70 years of age. DRCs will add 8% to your PIA for each full year you delay (.667% for each month you delay past your FRA). 

Thank you for submitting your question to our Social Security Advisor department. Be sure to share our link with your family and friends. 

This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at [email protected].