The Social Security Administration has announced its annual cost of living adjustments for 2024.
Starting in January, benefits will increase by 3.2%, to about $58 per month for the average retiree.
Here’s how to find out how much more money will appear on your check.
How to find your 2024 Social Security COLA
SSA will mail COLA notices to beneficiaries through the end of the year. As inflation eased through 2023, Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment was much lower than last year’s 8.7% increase, which was the largest in 40 years.
You can see exactly how much your benefits increase when you create an account with . SSA.gov. Once you verify your account, you’ll be able to get an estimate of your retirement benefits and see how your retirement benefits will change depending on your retirement age.
You will be notified of the exact adjustments on the Messages tab within the SSA Portal. To make sure you never miss a story, choose email or text notifications in your Message Center settings.
You can also crunch the numbers yourself and calculate your new Social Security benefits by multiplying the increase rate by your current monthly benefit amount.
Let’s say you’re receiving $1,822, the current average monthly benefit for retirees. Multiplying by the estimated COLA of 3.2% or 0.032%, your monthly benefit in 2024 would be approximately $1,880, an increase of $58.
Make the most of your Social Security income
When you leave your workplace, the way you cover your daily expenses changes. According to the SSA, Social Security benefits make up about 30% of a person’s income over the age of 65, and nearly 9 out of 10 people over the age of 65 receive Social Security.
Small monthly benefits, rising interest rates and rising food prices can make it difficult for the average recipient to make ends meet. However, there are ways you can extend or supplement these benefits to fit your lifestyle.
Depositing your Social Security payments, or a portion of them, into an interest-bearing account is an easy way to increase your retiree benefits. In fact, many banks and credit unions now offer high-yield savings accounts with interest rates of 4% and even 5%.
read more:
Retirees who can set aside a portion of their monthly payments may benefit from certificates of deposit (CDs). Banks and credit unions typically offer more favorable APYs for this type of account because you are committing to locking up your funds for a certain period of time.
Money market accounts are also a type of account that earns interest, but unlike CDs, these accounts allow easy access to your funds through debit cards or check-drawing privileges.
The annual COLA is based on the rate of increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage and Office Workers (CPI-W). The COLA calculation uses data from the third quarter of last year to the third quarter of this year.
How to set up an account in MySSA
Getting the most out of your benefits starts with knowing exactly how much you’ll receive. Here’s a primer on navigating the SSA website.
Setting up an account is very easy and can be done at any time, whether your retirement is months or years away.
Beneficiaries must provide your email address and at least one additional form of authentication, such as a phone number or alternate email address, to verify your identity.
Next, you will be asked to enter important information such as your Social Security number, name as it appears on your Social Security card, date of birth, address, and phone number.
Once you set up an account, you can use it to manage your benefits, estimate future benefits, request a lost Social Security card, check the status of your benefit application, and more. You may also choose to receive all notices online rather than by mail.