Only 36% of U.S. Workers Feel Financially Secure. A $70,000 Job at 64 Could Raise Social Security Even After Claiming

Americans may be feeling healthier, but their finances are another story. WTW’s 2026 Global Benefits Attitudes Survey, released October 15, found that just 36% of U.S. workers feel financially secure, down from 46% in 2019 during the pre-pandemic era. For some people in their 60s, working longer or returning to the job market could help close that gap.

Take a sample 64-year-old. He’s made up to show how the rules work. He took Social Security at 62 and gets about $1,500 a month. Higher prices and low savings send him back to work, and he takes a job paying $70,000 a year.

Some early claimers do the opposite, cutting back their hours to keep Social Security from withholding their checks. But turning down a good job to protect a smaller monthly benefit could cost them more in the long run.

A Strong Year Can Permanently Replace a Weak One

Social Security bases your benefit on your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for wage growth. Every year, the agency reviews beneficiaries who had wages. If the newest year is one of their highest, it recalculates the check. The raise is retroactive to January of the year after the money was earned, and it lasts for life.

Here’s the back-of-the-napkin version. Say his record includes an adjusted $15,000 year from a stretch of part-time work. Replacing it with $70,000 raises his average monthly earnings by about $131. If that increase falls within Social Security’s 32% benefit calculation bracket, it adds roughly $42 to his benefit before accounting for his early claiming age.

Because he took at 62, he gets about 70% of that amount, or roughly $29 more a month. That’s about $352 a year. Every future cost-of-living raise builds on it, starting with the 3.6% increase set for 2027.

Why His Checks Could Stop for a Year Anyway

He’s younger than full retirement age (FRA), so the earnings test applies. In 2026, Social Security holds back $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above $24,480. A full year at $70,000 means about $22,760 in benefits held back.

His checks add up to $18,000 a year, so Social Security would withhold all his payments for that year. But the money isn’t simply lost. When he reaches FRA at 67, the agency recalculates his benefit to give him credit for months when his checks were withheld. That makes his early-claiming penalty smaller, although it doesn’t necessarily repay every withheld dollar.

It helps to think of these as two separate things. The withholding is temporary and tied to his paycheck. The higher base benefit from his stronger earnings year is permanent, and he gets it even if he wasn’t paid a single check that year.

How the Paycheck Changes the Rest of His Plan

With a salary paying the bills, the year of held-back checks works like a forced delay. He doesn’t have to pull from savings to cover the missing checks, so that money can keep growing. The earnings test also ends starting with the month he reaches FRA. Any work after 67 can still raise his record, and none of his checks get held back.

What to Check Before Taking the Offer

First, he should look up his earnings record on the Social Security website and look for weak or zero years among his top 35. The more weak years he has, the more a $70,000 year can raise his check. If his record is already full of strong years, he’ll gain less.

Second, he should give Social Security an accurate estimate of his earnings up front. If he guesses too low, he’ll be overpaid, and the agency will take that money back later. That’s the hardest error here to fix.

Your own earnings history, birth year and pay will change these numbers, so check them against your actual statement. For a worker like him, there’s an upside to returning to work. His checks may stop temporarily, but a strong earnings year can raise his benefit for life. And at FRA, Social Security gives him credit for the months it withheld payments.

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