Working Past 70 Does Not Grow Your Social Security Check — Or Does It?

In the context of Social Security, 70 is an important age. It’s generally considered the latest age to claim benefits, even though you can technically file later.

You’re eligible for your monthly Social Security benefits without a reduction at full retirement age (FRA), which is 67 for anyone born in or after 1960. But for each year you delay your claim past FRA, your monthly benefits get a permanent 8% boost.

The delayed retirement credits you get for waiting beyond FRA to file stop accruing once you turn 70 — which is why it’s generally considered the latest age to sign up for Social Security.

If you file for benefits at 71, for example, they won’t be eligible for delayed retirement credits that final year. So really, there’s no sense in delaying your Social Security claim beyond your 70th birthday.

But that doesn’t mean there’s no benefit to working past age 70. Even though you can’t accrue delayed retirement credits past that point, you can still grow your Social Security checks by working and earning money.

How working past 70 impacts your Social Security checks

Delaying Social Security past age 70 won’t have an impact on your Social Security benefits. But working could.

Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on your 35 highest-paid years of income. But if you’re earning a generous wage past age 70, a year of higher earnings could replace a year of lower earnings in your benefits formula.

Let’s say you worked your whole life, but you got a major promotion in your late 60s. Now, you’re 70 years old earning $180,000 a year, whereas for most of your career, you earned well under $100,000.

If you’re able to replace a year of $50,000 wages with $180,000, that could result in much larger Social Security checks — even if that $50,000 income was from years back and is worth more when indexed for inflation. So don’t assume that working past age 70 won’t help you grow your Social Security benefits.

Plus, even if you’re only working part-time, if you don’t have a full 35-year work history, any wages you earn past 70 could replace a year of $0 income. For example, if you only worked 32 years and are now 71 earning $15,000 a year, guess what? Your $15,000 income is still higher than $0, so it helps.

The benefits of working may be more than worth it

Depending on your wage history, it may be that working past age 70 doesn’t do much for your Social Security benefits. But that doesn’t mean you ought to give up your job.

First, the money may be helpful. If you don’t have a lot of retirement savings, earning more gives you a better cushion.

And even if you have a $2 million IRA, if you don’t mind your job (or, better yet, like it) and you’re able to earn an extra $90,000 a year, why not do it? You can surely put the money to good use.

Also, work gives you something to do with your time and could help you keep your mind sharp. It could also give you more social interaction, which is something retirees sometimes start to miss.

So even if working past 70 does not end up growing your Social Security checks, it could still pay to keep at it. And in some cases, working after turning 70 could lead to much larger benefits, even if you’re no longer accruing delayed retirement credits.