Working Past 70: What It Means for Your Social Security and Medicare

If you’re still working well past your full retirement age—even after turning 70—you can increase your Social Security benefit if your latest earnings replace one of your 35 highest-earning years. The SSA automatically recalculates benefits each year, but there’s a hard deadline: delayed retirement credits stop at age 70. If you wait to claim, you permanently forfeit the payments you could have received for the months after your 70th birthday.

A reader in their peak earning years plans to work roughly 10 months past age 70 before retiring. While the extra income could nudge their benefit higher, not claiming at 70 means leaving money on the table. The SSA does not pay retroactive retirement benefits for those months you continue working after reaching that milestone.

On the Medicare side, continuing to work often means staying on employer health insurance. When that coverage ends, you’ll need to enroll in Medicare Part B during a special enrollment period to avoid late penalties. Because Medicare’s income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) is based on your tax return from two years earlier, a high-income year at the end of your career can trigger surcharges on Part B and Part D premiums—even after your income drops sharply in retirement.

The Fine Print on Delayed Retirement Credits and IRMAA Appeals

Why Claiming at 70 Is Almost Always the Right Call

Delaying past your full retirement age (67 for most people born after 1943) raises your monthly benefit by about 8% per year, up to age 70. The SSA calculates your benefit using your highest 35 years of earnings. So if your post-70 income is high enough to replace a lower-earning year in that record, your monthly payment will rise. But there is no actuarial advantage to waiting beyond 70; you simply miss out on the checks you would have received.

Where the Earnings Cap Matters

In 2026, only the first $184,500 of annual earnings is subject to Social Security payroll tax and counts toward your benefit calculation. Income above that threshold doesn’t increase your benefit, even if it’s far higher. So someone earning $300,000 in their final years gets the same benefit boost as someone earning $184,500—no extra credit for the top earnings.

The IRMAA Trap and How to Escape It

Medicare surcharges are based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from two years prior. That means a high-earning year at age 70 or 71 will show up in the IRMAA calculation at 72 or 73, when your income might be much lower. However, the SSA allows you to appeal IRMAA if you’ve experienced a life-changing event—retirement being a key one. Filing Form SSA-44 with evidence of your retirement date and a reasonable estimate of your new, lower income can reduce or eliminate the surcharge. For a married couple in the highest IRMAA bracket, the maximum surcharge in 2026 is roughly $6,936 per person per year.

What to Do If You’re Working Beyond 70 and Planning to Retire

  • File your Social Security claim four months before your 70th birthday. Applying early avoids processing delays and ensures you don’t lose any of the monthly payments you’re entitled to starting at 70, even if you keep working.
  • Check your earnings record. Log into your my Social Security account to see whether your most recent year’s income will replace a lower-earning year. The SSA automatically recalculates, but you can verify that a higher benefit is on the way.
  • Plan your Medicare enrollment around your last day of employer coverage. If your employer has 20+ employees, you can delay Part B without penalty, but you must enroll during the eight-month special enrollment period after employment or the group health plan ends. Avoid a gap in coverage.
  • Appeal IRMAA as soon as you retire. Complete Form SSA-44 and attach documentation—a letter from your employer confirming your retirement date and your expected income. The SSA can adjust your Medicare premiums for the year based on your new, lower earnings estimate rather than the high income reported from two years ago.
  • Keep income estimates realistic. Were your retirement income projections too optimistic after the appeal, you may owe the difference later. Use only income you can document—pension, investment income, part-time work—to avoid an unpleasant correction.