Should High-Income Earners Who Plan to Keep Working Wait Until Age 67 or Even 70 to Claim Social Security Retirement Benefits?

 Should High-Income Earners Who Plan to Keep Working Wait Until Age 67 or Even 70 to Claim Social Security Retirement Benefits?

For people with relatively high incomes who are healthy and plan to continue working until age 67 or even 70, deciding when to start collecting Social Security retirement benefits is an important financial decision that deserves careful consideration.

Many people believe that once they reach age 62, they should begin collecting Social Security benefits as soon as possible. After all, getting money earlier seems better than waiting. However, if you still have a well-paying job and intend to continue working, claiming Social Security too early may not be a wise decision. In fact, it could result in losing out on substantial retirement income.

There is an important rule that many people overlook: Social Security has an Earnings Test. If you claim retirement benefits before reaching Full Retirement Age (FRA) and continue working, your earnings may cause some or even all of your benefits to be temporarily withheld.

Therefore, for high-income earners who plan to continue working, claiming Social Security at age 62 does not necessarily mean they will actually receive the money they expect.

1. Why Might High-Income Earners Receive No Social Security Benefits Before Age 67?

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), if you claim retirement benefits before reaching Full Retirement Age while continuing to work, your employment income is subject to an annual earnings limit.

For 2026, the rules are as follows:

• If you will not reach Full Retirement Age during 2026, Social Security will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit of $24,480.
• If you reach Full Retirement Age during 2026, the earnings limit increases to $65,160 for the months before you reach FRA. Social Security will withhold $1 in benefits for every $3 you earn above that limit.

This means that if someone earns $100,000, $150,000, or even $200,000 annually, their Social Security retirement benefits could potentially be withheld in full before they reach Full Retirement Age.

In other words, even though you have applied for Social Security benefits, your employment income may be high enough that you receive no actual benefit payments during that period.

It is important to understand, however, that withheld benefits are not necessarily lost permanently. Once you reach Full Retirement Age, the Social Security Administration recalculates your benefits and adjusts your monthly payment to account for the months in which benefits were withheld.

2. Everything Changes After Age 67

For people born in 1960 or later, Full Retirement Age is 67.

Beginning with the month you reach Full Retirement Age, there is no longer an earnings limit that reduces your Social Security retirement benefits.

This means that even if you continue working after age 67 and earn $50,000, $100,000, $200,000, or more annually, your employment income will not reduce your Social Security retirement benefits.

In other words, after age 67, you can receive two sources of income at the same time:

1. Your regular employment income.
2. Your monthly Social Security retirement benefits.

This is an important advantage for people who earn relatively high incomes and plan to continue working.

3. Waiting Until Age 70 Can Significantly Increase Your Monthly Benefits

Another important factor that many people overlook is that delaying Social Security benefits increases the amount you receive each month.

For people born in 1960 or later:

• Claim at age 62: Approximately 70% of your Full Retirement Age benefit.
• Claim at age 67: 100% of your Full Retirement Age benefit.
• Claim at age 70: 124% of your Full Retirement Age benefit.

For example, if your monthly benefit at age 67 would be $3,000, your estimated monthly benefits would be:

Claiming Age	Monthly Benefit
62	$2,100
67	$3,000
70	$3,720

These figures are illustrative calculations based on a $3,000 monthly benefit at Full Retirement Age. They do not account for future Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) or other factors.

As you can see, if you are healthy, earn a good income, and do not need Social Security benefits to cover your daily living expenses, delaying benefits may be worth considering.

However, there is one important point: Social Security retirement benefits do not increase further through delayed retirement credits after age 70.

4. Continuing to Work May Also Increase Your Future Social Security Benefits

Social Security generally calculates retirement benefits using your highest 35 years of earnings.

If you continue earning a relatively high salary in your 60s, those newer, higher-income years may replace some of the lower-income years in your previous earnings record.

As a result, your future Social Security retirement benefits may increase.

Therefore, even if you are already 62, 65, or 67, continuing to work at a salary higher than some of your previous earnings could potentially increase your eventual monthly retirement benefit.

This is another reason why high-income earners who plan to keep working should consider not only when to claim Social Security, but also how their continued employment may affect their future benefits.

5. My Recommendation: High-Income Earners Who Plan to Keep Working Should Not Rush to Claim Social Security

For people with relatively high incomes who are healthy and intend to continue working until age 67 or even 70, I believe delaying Social Security retirement benefits deserves serious consideration.

There are several reasons:

First, if you earn more than the government’s annual earnings limit before age 67, some or even all of your Social Security benefits may be withheld. Applying early does not necessarily mean you will actually receive the money.

Second, after age 67, you can continue working and earn as much as you want without having your Social Security retirement benefits reduced because of your employment income.

Third, if you wait until age 70 to claim benefits, your monthly payment can reach 124% of the amount you would receive at age 67. That is a 24% increase compared with claiming at Full Retirement Age.

Fourth, continuing to work may allow higher-income years to replace lower-income years in your 35-year earnings record, potentially increasing your future retirement benefits.

Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different. If you have health concerns, need Social Security income to cover living expenses, or have other family or financial considerations, claiming benefits earlier may still be a reasonable choice.

There is also one particularly important reminder: Even if you decide to wait until age 67 or 70 to claim Social Security retirement benefits, do not forget to enroll in Medicare at age 65.

Delaying Social Security benefits does not mean you can ignore Medicare enrollment requirements at age 65.

Conclusion

Many people start thinking about claiming Social Security as soon as they turn 62 because they believe receiving money as early as possible is always the better choice.

However, for people with relatively high incomes who do not plan to retire immediately, this approach may not be the best financial decision.

If you continue working after age 62 and earn $100,000 or even $200,000 annually, your Social Security benefits may be completely withheld because of the earnings limit. At the same time, you may miss out on the opportunity to receive significantly higher monthly benefits by delaying your claim.

Therefore, the age at which you retire does not have to be the same as the age at which you begin collecting Social Security. Likewise, stopping work does not mean you must immediately apply for retirement benefits.

For high-income earners who are healthy and want to continue working, carefully evaluating the advantages of waiting until age 67 or even 70 to claim Social Security may be a much better approach to long-term retirement financial planning than rushing to apply at age 62.

References: Social Security Administration (SSA)

• Working While Receiving Social Security Benefits
• Receiving Benefits While Working
• Delayed Retirement Benefits for People Born in 1960 or Later
• Delayed Retirement Credits

Note: This article is based on Social Security Administration rules for 2026 and primarily discusses Social Security retirement benefits for ordinary retired workers. Special benefit situations may be subject to different rules.

Gang Chen, Publisher/Bestselling Author (GreenExamEducation.com)

Architect, LEED AP BD+C, Real Estate Broker (BRE# 01232392)

高收入者如果打算一直工作，是否应该等到67岁以后才开始领取美国社会安全退休金？

 高收入者如果打算一直工作，是否应该等到67岁以后才开始领取美国社会安全退休金？

对于收入较高、身体健康，而且打算一直工作到67岁甚至70岁以后的人来说，什么时候开始领取美国社会安全退休金（Social Security Retirement Benefits），是一个值得认真考虑的问题。

很多人认为，既然自己已经到了62岁，就可以马上开始领取退休金。早点拿钱，似乎总比晚拿好。但是，如果你仍然有一份收入不错的工作，而且打算继续工作，那么过早领取退休金，未必是一个明智的决定，甚至可能让你损失不少钱。

这里有一个非常重要的概念：美国社会安全退休金有一个收入限制（Earnings Test），在达到完全退休年龄（Full Retirement Age，简称FRA）之前，如果工资收入超过规定标准，部分甚至全部当年的退休金可能会被暂时扣留。

因此，对于高收入、打算继续工作的群体来说，62岁开始领取退休金，未必能够真正拿到自己想象中的钱。

一、为什么高收入者提前领取退休金，可能一分钱也拿不到？

根据美国社会安全局（Social Security Administration）的规定，如果你在完全退休年龄之前开始领取退休金，同时继续工作，那么你的工资收入会受到年度收入限制。

以2026年的规定为例：

如果你全年都没有达到完全退休年龄，工资收入超过 $24,480 的部分，每超过$2，社会安全局就会扣留$1的退休金。

如果你在2026年达到完全退休年龄，那么在达到该年龄之前的工资收入限制是$65,160，超过部分每$3扣留$1退休金。

这意味着，如果一个人年收入达到$100,000、$150,000，甚至$200,000，那么在67岁之前申请退休金，很可能当年的退休金会被全部扣留。

换句话说，你虽然已经申请了退休金，但因为工资收入太高，实际上可能拿不到任何退休金。

当然，这里需要特别说明：被扣留的退休金并不是永久消失。达到完全退休年龄以后，社会安全局会重新计算退休金，考虑之前因收入限制而被扣留的月份，调整今后的每月领取金额。

二、67岁以后，情况就完全不同了

对于1960年及以后出生的人，完全退休年龄是67岁。

从达到完全退休年龄的月份开始，无论你每年工资收入是$50,000、$100,000、$200,000，还是更高，都不会因为工作收入而被扣留社会安全退休金。

也就是说，如果你67岁以后仍然继续工作，你可以同时获得两份收入：

继续工作的工资收入。

每月领取的社会安全退休金。

这对高收入者来说，是一个非常重要的优势。

三、如果等到70岁领取，每月退休金还会更高

还有一个经常被忽略的重要因素，就是延迟领取退休金可以增加每月领取金额。

对于1960年及以后出生的人：

62岁开始领取：大约是67岁完全退休金的70%。

67岁开始领取：可以领取100%的完全退休金。

70岁开始领取：可以领取124%的完全退休金。

也就是说，如果你原本67岁时每月可以领取$3,000，那么：

以上是示范计算，假设完全退休年龄时的月退休金为$3,000，不考虑未来生活成本调整（COLA）及其他因素。

从这个角度来看，如果一个人身体健康、收入不错，而且不需要依靠社会安全退休金支付日常生活费用，那么推迟领取退休金，可能是一个值得考虑的选择。

不过，70岁以后继续推迟领取，退休金就不会再因为延迟而增加。

四、继续工作还有一个额外好处：提高未来退休金

美国社会安全退休金的计算，主要根据一个人职业生涯中收入最高的35年来计算。

如果你在60多岁时仍然保持较高的工资收入，那么这些新的高收入年份，有可能取代以前收入较低的年份，从而提高你未来的退休金。

因此，即使已经到了62岁、65岁，甚至67岁，只要继续工作，而且收入超过以前某些年份，你的未来退休金仍然有可能增加。

这也是为什么对于高收入、仍然愿意继续工作的人来说，不应该只考虑什么时候开始领取退休金，还应该考虑继续工作的收入对未来退休金的影响。

五、我的建议：高收入、打算继续工作的人，不要急着领取退休金

对于那些年收入比较高、身体健康，而且打算一直工作到67岁甚至70岁的人，我认为应该认真考虑延迟领取社会安全退休金。

原因主要有以下几点：

第一，67岁以前，如果工资收入超过政府规定的限制，退休金可能被全部或部分扣留，提前申请不一定能够真正拿到钱。

第二，67岁以后，即使继续工作，工资收入再高，也不会影响退休金的领取。

第三，如果等到70岁才开始领取，每月退休金可以达到67岁时金额的124%，比67岁开始领取高出24%。

第四，继续工作可能让你的高收入年份取代过去较低的收入年份，从而进一步提高退休金。

当然，每个人的情况不同。如果一个人身体状况不好、需要退休金支付生活费用，或者有其他特殊的家庭和财务考虑，提前领取也可能是合理的选择。

另外，还有一个特别重要的提醒：即使你决定等到67岁或70岁才领取社会安全退休金，也不要忘记65岁时办理Medicare医疗保险。 延迟领取社会安全退休金，并不代表可以忽略65岁的Medicare登记规定。

结语

很多人一到62岁，就开始考虑申请社会安全退休金，觉得越早拿到钱越好。

但是，对于收入比较高、并不打算马上退休的人来说，这种想法未必正确。

如果你62岁以后仍然有一份年收入$100,000甚至$200,000的工作，那么提前领取退休金，可能因为收入限制而拿不到实际的退休金；与此同时，你还可能失去延迟领取所带来的更高月退休金。

因此，退休年龄不等于开始领取退休金的年龄，停止工作也不等于必须马上申请退休金。

对于高收入、身体健康、希望继续工作的人来说，认真研究67岁甚至70岁以后才开始领取退休金的好处，可能比急着在62岁申请，更有利于自己的长期退休财务规划。

参考资料：美国社会安全局（Social Security Administration）

注：本文以2026年美国社会安全局公布的规定为依据，主要讨论美国普通退休工作者的社会安全退休金，不适用于所有特殊福利情形。

陈钢（Gang Chen）
出版社创办人、畅销书作家（http://GreenExamEducation.com）
建筑师（Architect）、LEED AP BD+C
加州房地产经纪人（BRE# 01232392）

网址：http://GreenExamEducation.com