What Is the Social Security’s Retirement Earnings Test?

If you retire early and still work while collecting Social Security, you will be subject to an RET.

What is the Retirement Earnings Test, and how long will it affect your benefits? pikselstock/Shutterstock

The Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) may cost you. Depending on what year you were born, your full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security could be 66 or 67. That’s when you’ll receive full benefits. But if you retire early and still work while collecting Social Security, you will be subject to an RET.

The RET measures how much money you can earn per year along with your payments. But what is this test, and how long will it affect your Social Security benefits?

Work and Receive Social Security

According to Mass Mutual, the average age Americans are choosing to start collecting Social Security is 62. If you withdraw Social Security early, you’re automatically penalized. For those whose FRA is 67, the penalty is a permanent 30 percent, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).