Any United States retiree who has a Social Security check will see a small change beginning January 2023. This change will also affect other users who collect some type of benefit from the Social Security Administration. It doesn’t matter if the check is for age retirement or disability. The most important thing in these cases is simply to have an accepted benefit.
In this way, we can get our Social Security check every month. As for the check, the amount is fixed before we start collecting it. There are several elements that shape how much money Social Security will pay us when we are already retired. After we start collecting the subsidy, there is no real effective way to increase the dollar amount that SSA pays us each month. But there is one increase per year that is always implemented.
This increase is the Cost of Living adjustment. It is usually referred to as a COLA and it makes retirees a little extra money year after year. The intent of this increase is not really to make retirees have more money, but to keep them from losing purchasing power.
With inflation everywhere, the Social Security check may seem insufficient for many retirees. That’s why SSA brings the subsidy a little bit in line with economic reality every year.
Next year we will see a COLA of 8.7%. That’s the highest COLA in a long time. If we add that percentage to the current benefits, the checks change quite a bit. For example, the maximum check of $4,194 in 2022 will become $4,555 per month next year 2023. And this will become effective automatically.
When will Social Security checks increase because of the COLA?
Starting in January 2023 the COLA will increase Social Security retirement checks. This means that retirement and disability checks next year will be 8.7% higher.
But there’s a funny thing about that, and that’s because Supplemental Security Income payments will also get that increase. Since SSI payments are always made on the 1st of each month with few exceptions, January’s payment will be made before 2023. Thus, Social Security SSI for January will be sent on December 30, 2022.
Therefore, the first of the 2023 Social Security checks will be sent in 2022. Although for practical purposes most beneficiaries will receive it within the corresponding year.
To receive this payment directly, simply have Direct Deposit active. This is the fastest way for Social Security checks to arrive without any delay. This way retirees could get the first of the 2023 checks in 2022.