In 2023, you generally could work and still get Social Security, but how much you could earn before benefits were reduced depended on your age and whether you had reached full retirement age (FRA).

Key 2023 earnings limits

These rules apply to Social Security retirement benefits (not SSI, which has different limits).

1. If you were under full retirement age all year in 2023

  • You could earn up to 21,240 dollars in work income in 2023 before any reduction.
  • If you earned more than 21,240 dollars , Social Security withheld 1 dollar in benefits for every 2 dollars you earned over that limit.

Example:
If you earned 25,240 dollars, that is 4,000 dollars over the limit, so about 2,000 dollars of your 2023 Social Security benefits would be withheld.

2. If you reached full retirement age during 2023

  • A higher limit applied for earnings before the month you reached FRA.
  • In 2023, that higher limit was 56,520 dollars in wages or self-employment income earned before the month you hit FRA.
  • Above that amount, Social Security withheld 1 dollar in benefits for every 3 dollars over the limit.

Example:
If you reached FRA in October 2023 and earned 62,520 dollars from January through September, that is 6,000 dollars over the limit, so about 2,000 dollars of benefits would be withheld.

3. After you reach full retirement age

  • Once you are at or past full retirement age , there is no earnings limit and your work income no longer causes benefits to be withheld.
  • However, your benefit may later be recalculated upward to credit you for months in which benefits were withheld and for additional covered earnings.

4. Monthly test for the first year you claim

In the first year you start receiving benefits before FRA, a special monthly earnings test can apply.

  • In 2023, the monthly limit was 1,770 dollars if this was the first year of receiving benefits and you were under FRA.
  • If you stayed at or below that amount in months after you “retired,” you could receive benefits for those months even if your earlier annual earnings were high.

What counts as earnings?

  • The earnings test generally looks at wages from work or net self‑employment income.
  • Investment income, pensions, and IRA withdrawals do not count as “earnings” for the Social Security earnings test (though they can matter for tax on your benefits).

Quick HTML table for 2023 limits

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Situation in 2023</th>
      <th>Earnings limit</th>
      <th>Benefit reduction rule</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Under full retirement age all year</td>
      <td>$21,240 annual earnings limit [web:1][web:3][web:7]</td>
      <td>$1 withheld for every $2 over $21,240 [web:1][web:3][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Reach full retirement age during 2023 (before the month you reach FRA)</td>
      <td>$56,520 annual earnings limit on earnings before FRA month [web:3][web:7]</td>
      <td>$1 withheld for every $3 over $56,520 [web:3][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>At or after full retirement age</td>
      <td>No earnings limit [web:7][web:9]</td>
      <td>No withholding due to work; benefits may later be adjusted [web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>First year of benefits before FRA (monthly test)</td>
      <td>$1,770 per month in 2023 [web:7]</td>
      <td>If over the monthly limit, that month’s benefit can be withheld [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Forum‑style takeaway for 2023

If you were under full retirement age in 2023, you could earn up to about 21k dollars with no reduction, and after that Social Security clawed back 1 dollar for every 2 dollars you went over. If you hit full retirement age during 2023, the limit jumped to about 56.5k and the reduction eased to 1 dollar for every 3 dollars over that higher threshold. Once you’re past full retirement age, the earnings limit basically disappears.

Meta description (SEO):
Learn how much you could earn while on Social Security in 2023, including the 21,240‑dollar and 56,520‑dollar earnings limits, how the earnings test works, and when benefits are reduced.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.