You’ve worked long enough to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. You’re at least 62, and you haven’t done anything that would lead the IRS to garnish your checks. So the idea that you could apply for benefits and get nothing probably sounds counterintuitive.
But that can be the reality for some early Social Security claimers who earn a lot of money from their jobs. Here’s a closer look at how much you can earn before you lose the entire average benefit in 2026.
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How the earnings test could cost you Social Security benefits
The Social Security earnings test is the reason you can lose some of your benefits if you earn too much from a job. This only applies while you’re under your full retirement age (FRA). That’s 67 for most people.
The rule says that if you’re under your FRA for all of 2026, you lose $1 from your checks for every $2 you earn over $24,480. If you’ll reach your FRA this year, you lose $1 for every $3 you earn over $65,160.
This loss isn’t permanent. You’ll qualify for a benefit increase once you reach your FRA. The more you have withheld due to the earnings test, the more money you’ll get later. But that’s not much of a consolation during the months you’re losing some or all of your checks.
How much you can earn before losing the average Social Security check
The average Social Security benefit is $2,081 per month as of April 2026. That gives you $24,972 in annual benefits. It might seem difficult to lose that much money to the earnings test, but it’s easier than it seems.
If you’ll be under your FRA all year, the first $24,480 you earn doesn’t affect your Social Security benefits. After that, your checks start decreasing rapidly. You’d only need an annual salary of $74,424 or more to forfeit entire average benefit checks to the earnings test this year.
You’ll hold on to more of your benefits if you’re expected to reach your FRA later this year. The income needed to lose entire checks depends somewhat on which month you were born. If we assume a December birthday, you’d need to earn more than $65,160 plus three times your total expected benefits during the 11 months you’re under your FRA, or $133,833.
This shouldn’t be a problem for most low- to middle-income seniors. However, you may still lose parts of your checks, even with lower annual incomes.
