Will Working Decrease My Spousal Survivors Benefit?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays survivor benefits to the spouses of "insured workers" who die. Insured workers are people receiving or eligible to receive retirement benefits.

The amount of spousal survivors benefits you'll receive will depend on your spouse's earnings record and other factors, like how old you are when you start getting benefits. Whether or not you work can also affect your benefits.

So, if you're receiving survivors benefits based on your deceased spouse's Social Security benefits, can you continue to work without losing benefits? That depends on two things:

• how close you are to full retirement age, and
• how much you're earning at your job.

In any case, working won't end your survivor benefits; at the most, your survivor benefits will be decreased.

Below are the answers to some of the most common questions regarding the effect working can have on widow's or widower's benefits.

How Much Can You Earn and Still Collect Survivor Benefits?

How much you can work without your survivor benefits being reduced depends on your age. If you've reached full retirement age, there's no monthly income limit on the amount of money you can earn from working. Your earnings won't affect the amount of survivors benefits you receive.

Income limit before full retirement age. If you haven't reached full retirement age (66 or 67) and you're not going to within the calendar year, you can earn up to $22,320 per year, or $1,860 per month (in 2024) before your income from work starts to affect the amount of survivors benefits you can receive.

Income limit before in year you reach full retirement age. If you'll reach full retirement age sometime within the year, you can earn more. In 2024, you can earn up to $4,960 per month without penalty in the year you reach full retirement age. (88 F.R. 7803.)

How Much Will My Survivors Benefits Be Reduced If I Earn More Than the Limit?

If you're not going to reach full retirement age within the year, Social Security will reduce your benefit payment by half the amount you earn over the annual limit. For example, if your annual earnings are expected to be $6,000 over the limit, your survivors benefits will be reduced by $3,000 for the year. (You might not see the reduction in your monthly checks right after you begin working. Social Security may withhold part or all of future monthly checks to take half of the excess earnings.)

If you're going to reach full retirement age within the year, Social Security will reduce your benefit payment by one-third of the amount you earn over the annual limit. In this case, if your annual earnings will be $6,000 over the income limit, Social Security will reduce your survivors benefits by only $2,000 for the year.

But the money you lose due to working isn't gone forever. Once you reach full retirement age, Social Security will gradually add it back to your monthly benefits over a period of 15 years. (More on this below.) So people who worked before full retirement age will see an increase in their survivor benefits after full retirement age.

This deferral rule doesn't apply if you're receiving spousal or survivors benefits because you're caring for minor or disabled children. In that case, any benefits withheld because of your earnings from work are gone for good.

What Income Is Included in the Annual Limit?

Social Security counts earned income toward the $22,320 annual income limit. So, if you work for an employer, your wages are counted as income. If you're self-employed, the profits from your business are counted as income. (20 C.F.R. § 416.1110.)

Other types of income don't apply to the annual limit, including any of the following:

• other government benefits (like veterans benefits)
• money made through investments
• earned interest, and
• pension payments.

Does the Work Limitation Apply to All Survivors Benefits?

The work limitation is applied to individuals receiving survivors benefits based on the earnings record of someone who was receiving retirement benefits (or was eligible for retirement benefits). While it's less likely that a child enrolled in school full-time will exceed the annual limit, it's possible that a dependent parent who hasn't reached full retirement age might.

The retirement earnings test doesn't apply to widows and widowers of SSDI recipients who are receiving survivors benefits or dependents benefits. So, if you're receiving survivors benefits based on your deceased spouse's SSDI disability benefits, the earnings test does not apply to you.

Is It Worth It to Work? Will I Get the Benefits Back?

It's important to remember that the survivors benefits withheld because of the earnings limit aren't lost, but rather deferred until the recipient reaches full retirement age. In fact, Social Security considers the earnings limit rule to be a helpful deferral of benefits, rather than a penalty.

At full retirement age, Social Security will raise your monthly benefit permanently to account for the months in which the agency withheld benefits from your check due to work. The calculations Social Security makes to return the money are quite technical; the agency reduces the reductions for claiming early retirement on your account to increase your monthly benefit.

In addition, you could actually raise the amount you get at full retirement age by working longer, if you haven't yet worked 35 years. (The SSA uses 35 years of earnings in calculating your Social Security benefits.)

Learn more about survivors benefits for spouses and survivors benefits for divorced spouses, including the eligibility requirements.

_{Updated December 7, 2023}