Do i get back money social security withholds because i work?

Yes, but not in a tidy lump sum. What Social Security does instead is increase your benefit when you reach full retirement age to account for the previous withholding. Full retirement age,

or FRA, is when you become eligible for 100 percent of the benefit amount calculated from your lifetime earnings. (FRA is 66 and 8 months for people born in 1958, 66 and 10 months for those

born in 1959 and 67 for people born in 1960 or later.) If you file before that, Social Security lowers the percentage of the benefit amount. During this “early retirement” period you also

temporarily lose benefits if you continue to work and your earnings exceed an annual limit. In 2025, the cap is $23,400, and Social Security deducts lose $1 in benefits for every $2 in

earnings above it. When you reach FRA, Social Security will begin making up for the withholding by giving you credit for the months when you lost benefits. Suppose you turn 62 in 2025 and

claim Social Security. Your monthly benefit is $1,200 and you earn $28,000 a year from a part-time job. For the year, Social Security withholds $2,300 from your payments (half of the $4,600

that exceeded the earnings limit). That works out to about two months of benefits lost. Now suppose you continue to lose two months of benefits a year until you reach full retirement age —

that's 67 for people like you who were born in 1963. That's 10 months of withheld benefits. When you hit FRA, Social Security will reset your benefit as if you’d filed 50 months

early rather than 60. (The difference, if you’re keeping score, is that you get 70 percent of your “full” benefit at 60 months early, 74.2 percent at 50 months.) The extra years you worked

will further boost your benefit payment if they rank among your 35 highest-earning years. This will increase your lifetime average for monthly income, the figure that is the basis of your

benefit calculation, in turn raising your benefit amount. KEEP IN MIND * The earnings limit only applies if you are under full retirement age. Social Security does not withhold any money

from your benefits if you keep working after FRA. * You won’t see the boost from that benefit reset immediately after your FRA date. Social Security will start the higher monthly payment the

following January.