I retired in 2017 at the age of 62, I continued working part time, in all the years of retirement my income was higher, every year than it was in my younger working years, I never had a recalcuation that I know of, then in Novmeber of 2022 I sent a leftter to Social Security Administration asking for a recalculation, it is almost June of 2023 and I have not heard anything from them one way or another regarding the recalcualtion. Is it too soon to expect an answer and also will they give me an answer even if I don't qualify for a recalculation ?

Hi. You wouldn't think it would be too soon for Social Security to have acted on your request for a benefit recalculation, but I have no way of knowing how much of a backlog they may have. In any case, they are supposed to send you a notice even if your request results in no benefit increase (https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0300605570). The notice would inform you of your appeal rights if you disagree with Social Security's determination.

Note that in order for your recent earnings to increase your benefit rate they must not only be higher than your actual earnings in your previous 35 highest earnings years, they must be higher than your highest 35 WAGE-INDEXED earnings years. Wage indexing converts earnings from years before you turn age 60 to reflect how much those earnings would amount to in more current dollar amounts. The following Social Security website explains how to calculate your wage-indexed earnings for all years, which should permit you to determine if your recent earnings were higher than your highest 35 wage-indexed earnings years.

Best, Jerry