The Social Security payment increases for all beneficiaries in the United States every year. In this sense, the COLA is the one that makes this increase, making in many occasions the check reach figures that were unthinkable before.
And in the case of this year 2024 we have not seen a huge COLA, but enough to combat inflation. Unlike the 2023 COLA, which was really big reaching almost 9%, in 2024 we have seen a Social Security increase of 3.2%.
So in the month of March we will still have this added COLA, which makes the 2023 payment a 3.2% increase for all cases. Therefore, we could have an extra $300 or so in Social Security retirement benefit this month. This is with respect to the last retirement payment of 2023.
How to get the extra COLA in March 2024?
COLA increases are fully automatic. This means that if you were collecting a benefit from the previous year, you should already have the COLA added today. Therefore, you will notice that as of January 2024 you have a little extra money in each month you get a Social Security payment.
So it is possible to reach $4,873 per month. But not all Americans can reach such a high figure. Each retiree has his or her individual benefit, so we must take this into account.
The 2023 check increased by 3.2% from January of this year 2024. This means that out of every $1,000 we get $32 more. Or what amounts to the same thing, we get $3.2 for every $100 of our retirement benefit. Thus, all Americans get a similar, fair increase each year.
When is the first Social Security payment in March?
The first of these payments will arrive on the 1st of March itself. On this day, the Social Security Administration will send out two different checks with the COLA added. Each of these checks is for a different group of Americans.
On the one hand, Americans with the pre-May 1997 benefit will collect their retirement benefit. On the other hand, Supplemental Security Income recipients will also have access to their benefit payment on this day.
So since the COLA is also added to the Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental Security Income recipients also get their extra money. However, since the checks for this benefit are usually smaller, the increase is smaller. In this case, the maximum payment is $943 per month.