Retired Electricians Are Being Called Back to Work. A 600-Hour Pension Waiver Does Not Waive Social Security’s Earnings Test.

Bob is 64, retired from his local two years ago, and collects both a union pension and Social Security. Last week, his former business manager called about a data-center build an hour from home. The general contractor needs journeymen to pull cable and terminate switchgear, and Frank’s pension fund has opened a temporary window allowing eligible retirees to take the work without losing their pension.

He nearly said yes. Then his wife asked whether Social Security cared. It does. The pension fund and the Social Security Administration (SSA) operate under two separate rulebooks. Clearing one does nothing to clear the other.

Two Rulebooks, One Paycheck

On the pension side, the NECA-IBEW Pension Trust Fund is allowing certain retirees to work up to 600 hours in covered and contributory employment during 2026 without having their pension suspended. Similar labor-shortage waivers have appeared elsewhere, including temporary 400-hour allowances in two Ohio laborer plans.

The electrical-fund waiver comes with conditions. Bob must have been retired for at least 90 days and received three monthly pension payments before returning. The work must require employer contributions to the fund under a collective bargaining agreement, and disability pensioners are excluded. Most importantly, he must submit the Temporary Return to Work Notification before returning. Skip the form and the normal suspension rules apply. Under those rules, working 40 or more hours in a month in disqualifying electrical employment can suspend the pension.

Bob also has to track the hours himself. The fund specifically says it will not warn him before he reaches 600. Once he uses the allowance, the ordinary monthly rule returns. Benefits paid for months that should have been suspended may be recovered from later pension checks. Social Security does not care whether the pension fund approved the work. The job produces wages, and Bob is collecting retirement benefits three years before his full retirement age of 67.

What the Earnings Test Actually Does

In 2026, someone under full retirement age (FRA) for the entire year can earn $24,480 before the Social Security earnings test begins withholding benefits. Above that limit, SSA generally withholds $1 for every $2 of excess wages. The limit rises, and the withholding formula becomes gentler, during the calendar year in which someone reaches full retirement age. Beginning with the month Bob turns 67, the test disappears. He can then earn any amount without having retirement benefits withheld.

At 600 hours, Bob reaches the 2026 limit at an average taxable wage of just $40.80 an hour. Journeyman rates on a large data-center project can clear that figure before overtime. Per diem needs its own line on the worksheet. Taxable per diem included on the W-2 counts as wages. Reimbursements paid under a legitimate accountable plan generally do not. Bob should ask payroll how each payment will appear before assuming the entire package counts, or does not count, toward the limit.

Benefits withheld under the earnings test are not simply lost. At FRA, SSA adjusts the monthly benefit to account for months in which checks were withheld. The money does not return as a lump sum, and recovering it can take years through the higher monthly payment. The new wages may also replace a lower year in Social Security’s 35-year calculation, producing a separate benefit increase.

How the Paycheck Reaches the Rest of the Plan

The 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 2.8%, whether Bob returns to work or stays retired. His union pension follows its own adjustment rules.

Wages can also make more of his Social Security taxable and push the household into a higher federal bracket. If he uses Marketplace insurance before Medicare, they may reduce premium tax credits. Once Medicare begins, a large wage year can affect IRMAA premiums roughly two years later.

Before Signing the Dispatch Slip

Three details deserve written confirmation:

1. Submit the pension fund’s notification form before the first shift.
2. Compare expected taxable wages, not only hours, with the $24,480 Social Security limit.
3. Ask the fund what counts toward the 600 hours and ask payroll whether travel pay, per diem, training, or standby time will appear as taxable wages.

The fund waiver protects Bob’s pension only if he follows its paperwork and hour rules. Social Security runs a separate calculation on the paycheck. The job may still be worth taking, but approved by the pension fund is only half the equation.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.