Working while collecting Social Security might lower your benefits before you hit full retirement age, but it might increase them in the long term. That’s because Social Security annually reviews your earnings record, and if that income ranks high in your career history, it will increase your benefits down the road. It depends on how much you're making and how much you've made over your working life. Plus when you file for Social Security benefits. Learn more here. This rule reduces Social Security payments for beneficiaries who claim early but continue to work and earn over a certain threshold. Once you reach full retirement age, though, there’s no such withholding no matter how much you earn from work, and you can claim 100 percent (or more) of your calculated benefit amount. For example, if you claim benefits four months after you reach FRA, you can get payments for those four months. If you wait until a year after you hit full retirement age, you can get six months of retroactive payments, but not a full year. Learn about how you can continue to work or go back to work and still collect Social Security retirement benefits. Maximizing your benefits starts with making the best choices for you, based on your age, marital status, work plans and more. Watch this free AARP webinar for expert guidance on avoiding Social Security pitfalls that could cost you money. Watch on demand You can get that maximum if you file for ex-spouse benefits when you reach full retirement age. You can receive Social Security benefits while working, but if you claim them before your full retirement age, it could reduce your monthly payments. In 2026, if you collect benefits before full retirement age and continue to work, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will temporarily withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn over $24,480. If you will reach FRA in 2026, the earnings limit goes up to $65,160 and $1 is deducted from your benefits for every $3 you earn over that. Once you attain full retirement age, the earnings limit. There are limits on how much you can earn from work while collecting SSDI payments but no restrictions on assets. You can have a savings account with as much money in it as you choose to save. That is not the case if you receive SSI, which provides cash assistance to people who are 65 or older, blind or have a disability and are in financial need. Nothing precludes you from getting both a pension and Social Security payment, and a recent federal law ensures the pension won’t change your benefit.