We signed my husband up for ss and he is 64 will be 65 in September due to the fact the company he worked for was closing. He has made $5000 so far this year and now has taken a job with another company. Do I need to contact ss after he has reached the $17040 limit or just wait until the end of the year and let them hold his next year ss checks until he has paid back the money he owes?

Hi,

You are supposed to notify Social Security as soon as you realize that your earnings will be over the exempt amount for the year. Also, it's almost always better to have any required Social Security benefits withheld while you have earnings coming in as opposed to trying to pay back an overpayment later when you may have less other income to live on.

You don't mention anything about yourself, but especially since your husband was born prior to 1954 he may have better filing options available to him other than filing for reduced benefits on his own record. You and your husband may want to consider using our maximization software in order to explore and compare your other possible filing options while he is still within the one year period in which he could withdraw the previous claim that he filed.

Best, Jerry