Social Security Earnings Limit for 2026 Explained
The 2026 retirement earnings-test limit was $24,480 below full retirement age and $65,160 during the year a person reached full retirement age.
Timeline
- January 1, 2026: The 2026 retirement earnings-test amounts took effect.
- Full-retirement-age month: The earnings test stops applying beginning with the month full retirement age is reached.
For someone under full retirement age throughout 2026, the Social Security retirement earnings-test exempt amount was $24,480 for the year, or $2,040 per month in the agency’s table. Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 of covered earnings above that annual limit. [1][2]
For a person reaching full retirement age during 2026, the higher limit was $65,160, or $5,430 per month, and it applied only to earnings before the month full retirement age was reached. The withholding formula for that period was $1 for every $3 above the applicable limit. [1][2]
Beginning with the month a person reaches full retirement age, the retirement earnings test no longer applies. Full retirement age depends on birth year, so two people working in 2026 may face different treatment even with the same annual earnings. [1][2]
The test concerns wages and net earnings from self-employment, rather than every kind of income. Investment income, pensions and some other receipts are generally outside this calculation. Individual reporting questions should be checked against current SSA instructions because timing and work type can matter. [2]
Benefits withheld under the earnings test are different from federal income tax on Social Security benefits. SSA can later recalculate the monthly benefit at full retirement age to account for months in which payments were withheld. That is why “withheld” should not automatically be described as permanently lost. [2]
The earnings test also differs from disability-program work rules and SSI income rules. A beneficiary should identify the exact benefit received before applying these thresholds. The $24,480 and $65,160 amounts answer the retirement earnings-test question for 2026, not every Social Security work situation. [1][2]
SSA may use a special monthly rule during the first year of retirement to address people who stop or sharply reduce work partway through a calendar year. That rule can make monthly earnings relevant even when earlier annual earnings were above the limit. It is another reason a single annual figure cannot resolve every case. [2]