In 2019, all recipients will see a 3.2% monthly Social Security income boost.
On Thursday morning, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced beneficiaries’ cost-of-living increase (COLA) in 2024. Although less than the 8.7% increase that beneficiaries received in 2023, the 3.2% increase is still among the highest in the prior decade.
The Social Security Administration provides annual cost-of-living adjustments to help Social Security and SSI recipients keep up with inflation. These yearly adjustments are determined by the inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which the United States Department of Labor compiles.
On Thursday morning, the most current CPI-W report, covering September, was made public. The data show that the CPI-W increased by 0.2% monthly and 3.6% annually.
The non-partisan Senior Citizen’s League (TSCL) had previously warned that the 3.2% increase in payments scheduled for 2024 would likely not be enough to keep up with the rising cost of living for seniors. They argue that the CPI-W inaccurately reflects that seniors spend a disproportionately large part of their income on food and medicine.
On Thursday morning, AARP issued a statement calling politicians to strengthen Social Security.
In a recent address to Congress, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said, “AARP is pushing Congress to work in a bipartisan fashion to preserve Social Security strong and to offer American workers and retirees a long-term solution that both current and future pensioners can trust on.” The American people have earned their Social Security benefits, and it is only fair that they receive them.
Seniors are feeling the “pain” of rising rates, but next year’s increase may let them “rest a bit easier at night,” as Jenkins puts it.
The increased payouts to Social Security recipients will commence in January 2024. (The exact date will depend on the recipient’s birthday.) By 2023’s close, participants will have begun receiving the first of their new SSI payments.
