3 Reasons Your Social Security Benefits Could Suddenly Shrink, and How to Fix Them

Many seniors aren’t happy with their Social Security checks, especially in times like these when costs are rising and benefits aren’t keeping pace. But rough as that is, it’s better than losing a big chunk of your checks all of a sudden.

That experience is surprisingly common, and it can occur for several reasons. Here are three common problems and what you can do to fix them.

1. The earnings test

The Social Security earnings test withholds money from your benefits if you earn more than a certain amount from your job while you’re under your full retirement age (FRA). This is 67 for most people today.

If you’re under your FRA for all of 2026, you lose $1 from your checks for every $2 you earn over $24,480 this year. Those who will reach their FRA in 2026 lose $1 for every $3 they earn over $65,160, only if they earn this much before their birth month.

You may be able to avoid this by delaying your Social Security application until you retire, or by reducing how much you work so you don’t trigger the earnings test. But if that doesn’t work, you may just have to accept it and adjust your budget.

The silver lining is that you get a benefit increase when you reach your FRA to make up for what you lost to the earnings test before. The greater the prior losses, the larger the benefit boost.

2. Garnishment for unpaid debts

While most creditors can’t garnish your Social Security benefits for unpaid debts, a few exceptions exist. If you owe the IRS or you have unpaid child support, alimony, or restitution, you could lose a portion of your Social Security benefits until these debts are repaid.

If you’d like to avoid this, reach out to your creditors as soon as possible. You may be able to work out a private payment plan that won’t cost you any of your Social Security benefits.

3. Divorce

Divorce can render you ineligible to claim a spousal Social Security benefit on your ex’s work record if you were married for less than 10 years before divorcing. This could reduce your monthly checks if your retirement benefit is worth less than your spousal benefit.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a way around this. You may need to make some budget adjustments or consider a job to supplement your benefits.

If you were married for 10 years before divorcing, you will still be eligible for spousal benefits on your ex’s record unless you remarry. But you could run into problems if you fail to update the Social Security Administration (SSA) of your divorce or any name, address, or bank account changes.

You must notify the SSA of these changes by no later than the 10th day of the month after they occur. Otherwise, you could face disruptions to your checks.

In all of the above cases, the Social Security Administration should give you advance notice of any benefit reductions. If you have questions about these changes, contact the SSA for more information.