The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that its beneficiaries will see a significant increase – totaling nearly 9 percent – in their monthly Social Security checks come January 2023. This cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is the largest boost to Social Security benefits in more than 40 years. The increase for 2022 was 5.9 percent.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which helps support millions of limited-income people with disabilities and those over age 65, will provide recipients with a slightly higher payout – on average, $73 more a month for individuals and $110 more a month for couples – beginning on December 30, 2022.
Read more about the Social Security Cost-of-Living adjustment for 2023.
The purpose of the COLA is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not eroded by inflation. It is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was determined to the third quarter of the current year. Congress enacted the COLA provision as part of the 1972 Social Security Amendments, and automatic annual COLAs began in 1975. Before that, benefits were increased only when Congress enacted special legislation.
In addition to the COLA increase, please note that many states supplement the federal government’s SSI payments. Depending on where you live, you could receive additional cash benefits.
Disabled workers receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits will also see a monthly increase – about $119 more on average for those who are not blind.
Eligibility for SSI as well as SSDI is contingent on recipients being unable to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA). To determine whether a person can perform SGA, they must not be able to achieve a specified monthly income. In 2023, this SGA threshold will increase from $1,350 to $1,470 a month.
Students receiving SSI can have a certain amount of money excluded without losing eligibility for the program. This threshold will increase in 2022 from $ $2,040 to $2,220 monthly.
The summary of the SSA benefit increases follow:
Maximum SSA benefit for a single person retiring at full retirement – $3,627
Single Person SSI Payment – $914
Married Couple SSI payment – $1,371
Essential Person SSI payment – $458
Substantial Gainful Activity Threshold for a Disabled Person – $1,470
Substantial Gainful Activity Threshold for a Blind Person – $2,460
Trial Work Period – $1,050
Maximum Social Security Contribution and Benefit Base – $160,200
Quarter of Coverage – $1,640
A listing of all the 2023 Social Security changes may be accessed in the 2023 Fact Sheet from Social Security attached below:
For additional information concerning social security disability appeals, visit:
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