In the United States, Social Security checks are increased each year to most effectively deal with price inflation. This increase is called the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and it works very effectively. Since the goal is for all beneficiaries to be able to afford the new prices the COLA may not be huge but it is enough to combat inflation.
So every year the United States Government announces the increase in mid-October. This year the COLA increase was announced, as usual, and the final figure was 3.2%. This means that each and every Social Security check will increase by 3.2% starting in January 2024. And not just SSA payments, but any other financial help check.
Likewise, getting a large check means having a larger check after applying the COLA. Since the increase is through percentages, the payments increase more the bigger the checks. And in the case of Social Security it is possible to reach $4,700 by next year 2024, a very large figure and one that can be of a lot of help to Americans.
WHO CAN GET $4,700 IN SOCIAL SECURITY?
In order to be able to reach that figure, it is necessary to have applied for a Social Security check with the maximum amount. In other words, you need to have a check for $4,555 in 2023. This is the current maximum amount and will become $4,700 as of January 2024.
So if you have the maximum check in this year 2023 you will also happen to have the maximum check in the next year 2024. However, not all Americans can reach that large figure. Still, there is nothing to worry about with respect to these amounts. If we don’t have a check that large we will still get the increase.
Regardless of what our Social Security check is in 2023 we will be able to get a 3.2% increase in the next 2024. The important thing in these cases is that the COLA will be applied equally, so we could have a direct payment with that increased amount starting next January.
HOW TO GET THE MAXIMUM PENSION?
To increase the Social Security check to the maximum we must take into account several aspects. It is very important to plan our retirement in advance. If we do not plan our retirement it is impossible to reach a good figure.
There are three elements that we must take into account to plan our retirement:
- Retirement age. It is very common to apply for Social Security at age 62, but it is a mistake that will cost us dearly. The later we retire, the better the check will be. To reach the maximum payment it is mandatory to wait until age 70.
- Year worked. If we do not work a minimum of 35 years we will not see a good check in our retirement.
- Salary. The higher the salary as a worker, the better Social Security check we will have in the future.
If we maximize these three elements it is possible to reach a good amount in our retirement. Although it is true that it is possible that we will not reach the maximum of $4,700 in 2024, we could have a very similar amount in our Social Security check.