Social Security July update: Here’s why checks could be smaller for millions of Americans [Reclaiming over payments]

Fast Company ^ | July 01, 2025 | Michael Grothaus

[Valpal1]

“If you are one of the individuals impacted, you should have already received notification from the Social Security Administration, which began sending letters about the upcoming withholdings in April.”

Burying the lede as usual. This is about people who are working side jobs after retiring. Making more than the maximum means they will reduce your SS check.

[Red Badger]

Depends on your age.......

[damper99]

You need to read the link again as you are incorrect in your statement. There is no reduction in SS after FRA. The $1 for $3 reduction you mention only applies in the year you reach FRA and stops at the month of your birthday and also has a higher income limit for that year or part of year, depending on your birth month.

[Ditto]

Say you are retired and getting SS and a pension. 5 years after you retire, your employer calls you in to fix a problem that only you know how to fix, and offers you $15,000 to do so. You do so and fix the problem in less than a week. Are you then obligated to tell the SSA?

Nope. If you are below your full retirement age, you can earn up to 23, 000 before SS cares. If you are past your full retirement age you can earn millions and SS does not care..

[Tired of Taxes]

The article must be talking about people who collect SS payments before their full retirement age. They’re required to report their work income.

Also, sometimes Social Security makes mistakes in calculating payments. I’ve read other articles about people who had to pay back SS overpayments after SS made an error.

[Prince of Space]

It only applies to ppl who retired between 62 and whatever their full retirement age is. If you retired at FRA, you can continue working with no cap on income and your SS payment isn’t impacted at all. In fact, it may even go up if you’re making more money than the highest 40 quarters in your employment history.

[Tell It Right]

Thanks for clarifying.

[econjack]

Side income is only part of the problem, but the article gives the impression that everyone is affected. Also, note the use of the "weasel word" used in the tag: "could". The result is a statement that can't be tested empirically.

[Thank You Rush]

“”The article must be talking about people who collect SS payments before their full retirement age.””

I don’t know HOW anyone could collect any RETIREMENT benefits BEFORE retirement age. There’s SSI - Supplemental...which I guess could be at any age..

[Tired of Taxes]

You can collect social security as early as 62, but the payments will be lower, and if your work income exceeds a certain amount, the payments will be lowered further until you reach full retirement age. At least, that’s my understanding of it.

[Thank You Rush]

Learn something new every day....I knew there was another SS benefit besides the SSI I mentioned and that’s SSDI - Disability. Of course, there are others for spouse and survivor dependents...I’ve always wanted to meet the people who come up with these rules - ie Medicare etc. (not really).

My husband and I both retired at 65 so it wasn’t out of the ordinary - we both continued to work with usual deductions for SS etc., and our wages were reported as always by employers.

Retirement Benefits (Before Full Retirement Age – FRA)

For individuals receiving retirement or survivor benefits before reaching their designated FRA, an “annual earnings test” applies. Reporting earnings allows SSA to determine if income exceeds the yearly limit and if benefits need to be reduced accordingly. This test is a specific condition tied to receiving benefits early while still working.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

SSDI is an insurance program for those unable to work due to a disability. Reporting work activity and earnings allows SSA to monitor work attempts through mechanisms like the Trial Work Period (TWP) and to assess whether earnings reach a level considered “Substantial Gainful Activity” (SGA). Reaching SGA levels can indicate an ability to work and may impact continued eligibility for disability benefits. The focus here is on how work relates to the program’s definition of disability.

[Tired of Taxes]

I haven’t reached 62, yet, but I’m thinking about filing for early SS payments then.

[Thank You Rush]

“”I haven’t reached 62, yet,””

I wish I could remember being 62...was a long time ago!!! We officially retired in 2006 and moved from CA to GA..worked since the 1950’s including my husband’s military time in there somewhere also..

[Keyhopper]

Yes, the trick is not to make more than $23,400

[Tired of Taxes]

When you retired but kept working and contributing to SS, did your SS payments increase? I’ve been wondering how that works.

[Thank You Rush]

I don’t think there was any way to measure it as we just started to receive our benefits when we were eligible and applied at 65. There wasn’t a before and an after - if that makes sense. Our benefit amount changed from year to year because our wages were reported just like before. Hope I haven’t confused it for you.

[Tired of Taxes]

Thanks for your response. Hope you don’t mind one more question: Did the benefit amount increase each year, or did it sometimes decrease?