The Social Security Administration recently stated that payments to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries are set to increase for next year. Specifically, the payments are expected to rise 2.8 percent.
Why Are My Social Security Checks Increasing?
This payment increase is due to an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, also known as COLA. COLA is based on low inflation and is dictated by law. It takes effect on December 31 for the country’s 8 million SSI recipients.
The COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, or CPI-W. This measures different price changes for food, clothing, transportation, housing, medical care, energy, education and recreation. Low-income disabled and elderly people that receive Supplemental Security Income also receive a COLA. In addition to retirees, other Social Security beneficiaries include disabled employees and surviving children and spouses.
If you receive SSI, the maximum federal payment will increase to $771 per month, which is an increase from $750 in 2018. Couples that benefit from the program will receive $1,157 every month, which is up from $1,125 this year. The COLA in 2019 will be slightly higher than the 2 percent increase that beneficiaries benefitted from in 2018, and it will be the largest year-over-year increase since 2012.
To learn more about what to expect from your Social Security checks in the coming year, keep following the disability attorneys at Troutman & Troutman, P.C. for more important information.
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