Just like every year, Social Security updates its information and makes some important changes. In this case, there are at least three updates that SS will make that will affect US citizens. This year has been a very difficult one for many US citizens. The rising cost of living made the prices rise and become unaffordable for many people. Many workers had already had a terrible economic situation when the pandemic hit their economy.
Not only did the price of food go up, but also gas prices were exorbitant due to the current global situation. If you were short of money right before inflation increased, your budget might have become even tighter now. What is more, people are suffering the interest rates on their mortgages. The Federal Reserve made some increases to bring down inflation.
There are several main changes that concern US citizens are the following. Social Security announced that beneficiaries of SS benefits will see the COLA rise at least. This pay rise reaches 8.7 since it is the percentage that the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers reached. It is true that the amount that beneficiaries receive may differ. Ranging from $146 to $1,827 according to Social Security.
Which will be Social Security’s maximum benefit in the coming year, 2023?
Moving on to the second change, as you may have already guessed has to do with the maximum benefit. Those 62-year-old retirees who will benefit from the Social Security retirement benefits in 2023 and get the maximum amount possible could get up to $2,572 each month. They will get about $208 more than they would have gotten in 2022.
After the previous update, the third one would deal with payroll taxes. It will mainly affect those workers whose earnings in 2023 go over $160,200. If you happen to be in that situation, Social Security might withhold up to $818.20 or double that amount if you are self-employed. Besides, disability income thresholds are increasing too.
There are bout 8.95 million people in the US that get a benefit of this type. For instance, disability workers could earn as much as $1,470 each month whereas it was $1,350 in 2022. That makes something like an extra salary for the whole year. Making it a vital change for those families. Last but not least, Social Security has changed the number of credits in order to get a benefit.
As long as you meet all the requirements of Social Security, you cannot get any benefits. For instance, to get a benefit from SS you need to have worked for about ten years, which is 40 credits. Four is the maximum you could get each year, so in ten-year work, you could get as much as 40. If this year you had to earn $1,510 to get one credit, you will have to get as much as $1,640 to get the same in 2023.