Social Security benefits can be reduced for some retirees who work. How that may change

If you receive Social Security retirement benefits and are still working, you may see your monthly payments reduced, depending on your circumstances.

But that all could change if one proposal — the Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act — becomes law.

The bicameral bill, recently proposed by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Rep. Greg Murphy, R-North Carolina, would repeal a provision known as the retirement earnings test. It reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who start retirement benefits early and continue to work.

The retirement earnings test affects those who claim Social Security before full retirement age, when beneficiaries are eligible for 100% of the retirement benefits they’ve earned. That typically is age 66 to 67, depending on year of birth.

In 2026, individuals under full retirement age can earn up to $24,480 for the year before the retirement earnings test applies. For income over that annual limit, the Social Security Administration will deduct $1 from benefits for every $2 earned.