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More than 66 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients will get a 2% boost in benefits next year, the largest increase since 2012.
It will result in about a $25 monthly increase for the average beneficiary.
The Social Security Administration said the 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to Social Security beneficiaries in January 2018. Increased payments to SSI beneficiaries will start on December 29, 2017.
The COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, a broad measure of consumer prices, the Associated Press reports. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education.
Social Security checks went up 0.3% in 2017, but there was no increase for 2016. The adjustment was 3.6% in 2012.
According to the Social Security Administration, the average Social Security check for a retired worker is currently $1,377 a month. It will go up to $1,404 after the first of the year, a $27 increase.
You can get an estimate of your benefits using the calculator on the SSA’s website.
AARP has released the following statement from CEO Jo Ann Jenkins in response to the COLA for Social Security beneficiaries in 2018:
“Today’s 2 percent COLA announcement gives some relief to Social Security beneficiaries and their families who depend on their earned, modest benefits. Since 2011, beneficiaries have received little to no increase – never more than 1.7 percent. For the tens of millions of families who depend on Social Security for all or most of their retirement income, this cost of living increase may not adequately cover expenses that rise faster than inflation including prescription drug, utility and housing costs.”
