WASHINGTON (WENY) – Americans who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will see a nearly 6% increase in their benefits next year.
The Social Security Administration announced today roughly 70 million Americans will have benefits increase by 5.9%; the adjustment is to account for the cost of living, which has risen over the past year due to inflation resulting in higher prices for goods such as gas and groceries.
Adjustments will go into effect in January 2022 for 64 million Social Security beneficiaries. Roughly eight million SSI beneficiaries will see increased payments starting December 31, 2021. The Social Security Act ties the annual cost of living adjustment to the increase in the Consumer Price Index that’s determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other adjustments set to take effect in January are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will increase to $147,000 from $142,800.
Beneficiaries are typically notified by mail starting in early December about their new benefit amount. You can also view your COLA notice online through your personal my Social Security account. You can create or access that account by clicking here.
Information about Medicare changes, when announced, will be available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries receiving Medicare, SSA will not be able to compute the new benefit amount until after the Medicare premium amounts for 2022 are announced.
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