Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer. If you claim Social Security retirement benefits before full retirement age and keep working, your 2026 earnings test limits are $24,480 a year ($2,040/month) if you’re under full retirement age all year, with $1 withheld for every $2 you earn above it, or $65,160 a year ($5,430/month) in the calendar year you reach full retirement age, counting only earnings before the month you get there, at a gentler $1-withheld-per-$3 rate. Both 2027 figures are not officially announced; the Social Security Trustees’ 2026 Annual Report projects $25,200 and $67,200 respectively for 2027, again as a government actuarial estimate rather than a final number.
What’s actually settled, vs. still open
Settled for 2026 (SSA POMS RS 02501.025, confirmed against the same Federal Register notice as the wage base): lower limit $24,480/year; higher limit $65,160/year. Withheld amounts are not lost: Social Security recalculates your benefit at full retirement age to credit the months withheld.
Open: the 2027 figures, governed by §203(f)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act, wage-indexed the same way as the taxable maximum, and announced on the same mid-October schedule.
The figures change; the claiming decision is still yours
These numbers set the frame, but what they mean for when you claim and what you live on in the meantime depends on the rest of your income and savings, and an adviser can look at that with you.
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The numbers, year by year
| Year | Under-FRA limit | FRA-year limit |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $19,560 | $51,960 |
| 2023 | $21,240 | $56,520 |
| 2024 | $22,320 | $59,520 |
| 2025 | $23,400 | $62,160 |
| 2026 | $24,480 | $65,160 |
| 2027 (Trustees’ estimate) | $25,200 | $67,200 |
The two limits aren’t interchangeable
The higher limit only ever applies in the single calendar year you reach full retirement age, and only to what you earn before the month you actually reach it; earnings from that month onward aren’t tested at all. Applying the lower, under-FRA limit to a reach-FRA year (or vice versa) is the single most common mistake in estimating a withholding hit.
Sources
2026 figures: SSA POMS RS 02501.025, secure.ssa.gov, revised 2025-11-21, cross-checked against the Federal Register’s 2026 determinations notice. Statute: Social Security Act §203(f)(8)(B). 2027 projection: Social Security Board of Trustees, 2026 Annual Report, via The Motley Fool, “3 Big Social Security Changes Coming in 2027 May Surprise Retirees,” 2026-07-26, read 2026-09-04.
This page is updated the day the official figure is announced, and any projection above will be struck through rather than deleted, so the record of what was projected vs. what actually happened stays visible. See the 2027 numbers hub for every figure this program tracks, projected vs. official. General information, not tax or legal advice.