Dear Rusty: I am writing to you on behalf of my husband. His intentions are to go part time as of January 1, 2026, working 30 hours a week and take Social Security benefits as supplemental income. How can we determine what his Social Security benefit would be with him still working part time? He will be 63 and 7 months old next January and has not yet applied for benefits. We look forward to hearing from someone very soon. Signed: Anxious for Information Dear Anxious: If he claims Social Security at age 63 and 7 months, your husband’s benefit will be about 78% of what it would be if he waited until age 67 to claim. And, since your husband will not yet have reached his SS full retirement age (FRA), he will be subject to Social Security’s Annual Earning Test (AET), which limits how much he can earn while working and collecting early Social Security retirement benefits. The amount he can earn without paying a penalty changes yearly but, for reference, the earnings limit for 2025 is $23,400 per year. If his work earnings exceed the annual limit, Social Security will take away some of his benefits. Using the 2025 limit as an example, if your husband’s annual 2025 earnings were $40,000, then he would owe about $8,300 (half of the amount he exceeded the limit by). Social Security would withhold his monthly benefits for enough months to recover what he owes for exceeding the earnings limit (how many months they withhold would be determined by his monthly SS benefit amount).