What this calculator does
If you get Social Security retirement benefits before your full retirement age and keep working, the retirement earnings test can hold back part of your benefits. Enter the year, your birth month, your monthly benefit and your expected earnings, and the calculator shows how much is withheld, how many monthly payments that means, and what you still receive that year.
How it is worked out
Before the year you reach full retirement age, Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above the limit: $24,480 in 2026 and $25,560 in 2027. In the year you reach full retirement age, it withholds $1 for every $3 above a higher limit, $65,160 in 2026 and $67,920 in 2027, counting only earnings before the month you reach that age. From that month on there is no limit (SSA 2027 fact sheet).
Example: in 2027 you are 65, get $1,800 a month and expect to earn $40,000. You are $14,440 over the $25,560 limit, so $7,220 is withheld. Social Security holds back whole payments from the start of the year: 5 payments of $1,800, or $9,000, and the extra $1,780 is paid back after the year ends, when your actual earnings are known.
Withheld benefits are not lost
When you reach full retirement age, Social Security recalculates your monthly benefit to give you credit for the months it held back, so your benefit goes up from then on. Report your expected earnings to Social Security, and update the estimate if it changes, to avoid an overpayment you would have to repay.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as earnings for the earnings test?
Wages from a job (before taxes) and net earnings from self-employment. Pensions, annuities, investment income, interest, and government or military retirement benefits do not count.
Is there an earnings limit after full retirement age?
No. From the month you reach full retirement age, you can earn any amount without benefits being withheld.
What is full retirement age?
67 for people born in 1960 or later; between 66 and 67 for people born from 1955 to 1959. If you were born on the 1st of a month, Social Security counts you as born the month before.
Is there a special rule for the first year?
Yes. In the first year you get benefits, Social Security can pay a full benefit for any whole month you are considered retired, whatever your earnings for the year. This calculator does not apply that rule; Social Security explains it on its page about working while getting benefits.
Is my information saved?
No. The numbers stay on this page.