How Many Hours Can You Work and Still Collect Social Security Benefits?

In life, hard work usually earns you rewards. But in the case of Social Security, too much work can temporarily backfire.

There isn't an official limit on the number of hours you can work, only on how much you earn before full retirement age. If you enroll in Social Security before full retirement age and continue to work, some of your benefits might be withheld.

Find out more about the rules so you can eliminate some stress when living on Social Security and trying to get some extra money on the side. 

Can you work while collecting Social Security?

Americans who are eligible for Social Security benefits can begin to collect at age 62. However, they do not reach full retirement age until later in life. For people born in 1960 or later, that age is 67.

This distinction is crucial for those who enroll in Social Security prior to full retirement age and continue to work.

For these folks, earning too much during the year from a job could result in seeing some of their Social Security benefits withheld.

What is the Social Security earnings limit?

If you have not yet reached full retirement age, you cannot earn more than $24,480 if you want to enjoy your full benefits. This dollar amount is known as the "earnings limit," and it is adjusted annually to account for inflation.

Once you exceed the earnings limit, the Social Security Administration (SSA) deducts $1 from your payments for every $2 that you exceed the annual limit.

How many hours can you work before reaching the limit?

Here's an example of how this might work. Imagine you work at a job that pays $20 an hour. Once you have worked roughly 1,224 hours during the year, you will have hit the earnings limit.

That means you can safely work roughly 23.5 hours each week and still not exceed the earnings limit.

Bump that up by even 30 extra minutes of work per week throughout the year, and the earnings limit will come into play.

Higher-paying jobs reach the limit faster

Of course, your odds of exceeding the earnings limit increase significantly if you earn a good salary.

It's even possible that you could run right past the limit in just a few months if you work at a highly paid job.

The more you earn, the more you need to be aware of how easy it is to enter into a situation where some of your benefit is withheld.

How the earnings limit changes the year you reach full retirement age

If you are still working the year you reach full retirement age — 67 for most people today — the rules change a bit.

At that point, the earnings limit jumps to $65,160 for 2026, and only your earnings up to the month before you reach full retirement age are included.

In addition, if you exceed the limit that year, the deduction is $1 for every $3 you earn above the limit.

What happens after you reach full retirement age?

Once you reach full retirement age, the shackles come off. At that point, there is no penalty for working and being enrolled in Social Security at the same time.

That means you can collect all your Social Security benefits and as much salary as you like without seeing your benefits withheld.

What counts as earnings?

When the SSA looks at your earnings, it is focused on things such as wages and self-employment net profit. Bonuses, commissions, and vacation pay also are included.

Taken together, this is the money that will determine whether some of your benefit will be withheld.

On the other hand, "earnings" in this context does not include things such as:

• Pensions
• Investment income
• Annuities
• Veterans benefits
• Other government or military benefits

This means that if you earn all of your income passively, you don't need to worry about exceeding the earnings limit.

Will you lose those withheld benefits forever?

The notion of having some of your benefit withheld sounds worse in theory than it is in reality.

That is because those reduced benefits do not disappear forever. Once you reach full retirement age, the SSA will recalculate your monthly benefit to account for any months that your benefit was curbed.

So, while you might lose money in the short run, you will get it back with time.

How to avoid having benefits withheld

Of course, there is a simple way to avoid the headache of having benefits withheld: Wait until you retire before enrolling in Social Security.

This may not be an option for those who need the extra income now. But for others, waiting often makes sense.

As a bonus, the longer you continue to wait to file up until age 70, the larger your monthly Social Security benefit will be.

Bottom line

If you are like millions of Americans, getting your full Social Security benefits is a key part of reaching your retirement goals. Having some of your benefits withheld might make it tougher to achieve those objectives.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to avoid eclipsing the earnings limit. And even if you do end up with a smaller benefit, remember that the situation is only temporary. Eventually, you will get all of the money to which you are entitled.