Social Security benefits aren’t as guaranteed as death and taxes, and there are a few ways you can lose or reduce your payments. While reducing payments isn’t the same as losing benefits entirely, you could lose money that’s rightfully yours. Here's how you could lose or lessen your benefits, according to experts.
CLAIM BENEFITS EARLY
If you choose to claim Social Security benefits when you’re eligible (age 62) but before your full retirement age, you will permanently reduce your benefits by as much as 30% below what you would get if you waited to begin receiving benefits at your full retirement age (66-67, depending on the year you were born). Let’s say you were born in 1962 and are 62 years old. If you start receiving Social Security today, the average $1,907 benefit would be reduced to about $1,335. The longer you wait to claim Social Security benefits, the greater the amount will be.
MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY IN EARLY RETIREMENT
If you want to work after you retire, you can expect a smaller Social Security check. If you are below your full retirement age in 2026, the most you can earn from a job before your Social Security benefits are reduced is $24,480 per year. If you reach your full retirement age during 2026, the limit is $65,160 before the month you hit that age, and once you reach full retirement age, there's no limit on your earnings.
GET REMARRIED
If you’re receiving benefits based on the earnings record of an ex-spouse, you will lose those benefits if you remarry. However, you will always have access to your own benefits or the benefits of your new spouse.
GO TO JAIL
Your benefits will be suspended if you are incarcerated for more than 30 days, but they will resume the month following your release. If your Social Security benefits are supporting others in your family, don’t fret. Your spouse or children will still receive benefits as long as they’re eligible.
While claims that Social Security will run out of money are exaggerated, the administration’s trust funds are expected to reach a shortfall in the next decade or so, and this has many people concerned. According to the Social Security Administration, benefits are expected to be payable in full on a timely basis until 2037, when the trust fund reserves are projected to become exhausted. At the point where the reserves are used up, continuing taxes are expected to be enough to pay 76% of scheduled benefits. Still, it will be another decade before that happens, and those in the know say Congress won’t let Social Security run dry.
