In 2023, the COLA for both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income will be 8.7 percent. This rise in benefits is the largest since 1981.
Based on the rate of inflation, the Social Security Administration modifies benefits each year. When the COLA was 5.9% this year, which is significantly less than the increase in prices this year, seniors’ purchasing power decreased.
Social Security Payment Increase
The Senior Citizens League found that 4 out of 10 seniors admitted to using their emergency funds to cover expenses this year. Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the Senior Citizen’s League, pointed out that as people age, their purchasing power declines, depleting other retirement resources like savings.
Seniors may be using credit cards more frequently or turning to safety net services, Johnson continued. Additionally, she stated that seniors or retirees are currently going through a time when they are attempting to cope and manage.
The beneficiaries’ concern over whether the rise will be sufficient for January 2023 is a recurrent issue with the COLA 2023 boost. It has allegedly been determined that COLA 2022 is insufficient to meet the needs of the beneficiaries.
According to an analysis by the Senior Citizens League, the prior record-high yearly benefit increase was still missing even after a 5.9% COLA went into effect in January.
Even the simplest meal was more difficult to afford due to the record-high inflation, according to Johnson. The average retiree payout will rise to $1,827 from $1,681 in 2022 in 2023 thanks to a monthly increase of $146.
Read more: Social Security: Why COLA increase is not a good news for all beneficiaries
Increased Payments in 2023
Johnson predicted that COLA 2023 will increase senior payments by a record amount, making it the largest COLA that any retiree alive now has ever received.
In 2023, it was predicted that pensioners will have to give up the majority of their historic COLA. Additionally, it was predicted that there was no assurance that the increase in benefits for the next year would completely balance inflation, even with a 9.6% COLA.
In January, more than 65 million people who receive Social Security benefits will see a rise in their payments, while more than 7 million people who get Supplemental Security Income may notice an increase in their payments as early as December 30.
A $1,827 check will be issued to every retired worker collecting Social Security benefits in 2023. Couples who both qualify for benefits will each earn $2,972. In 2023, a widowed mother with two kids will receive $3,520, and a widower without any kids will receive $1,704.
In 2023, all disabled workers will receive payouts totaling $1,483, while those with a spouse and one or more children will receive checks worth $2,616.
Checks for people receiving SSI benefits will rise from $841 in 2022 to $914 in 2023. The monthly benefit for a couple receiving SSI is $1,371.
Beneficiaries have already begun receiving messages from the Social Security Administration about their increased monthly income for 2023.