Inflation in the United States does not stop. This directly affects Social Security beneficiaries. On the other hand, it is true that it affects all U.S. citizens, but those who collect a subsidy may have more problems. This is because workers may receive more money in their monthly salary if the company adjusts for inflation. This can happen every month, but pensioners see this increase only once a year through the COLA.
Each year the COLA is calculated through the increase in the CPI-W in the third quarter of the month. This means that in the months of July, August and September are important. We must look them very closely at what the inflation has been. The Social Security Administration announces the final increase figure in October. And this year, all things being equal, the increase could be about $200 on average for pensioners.
What to do if you want to receive the Social Security COLA?
The Social Security COLA is automatically added to your monthly benefit. Therefore, you do not need to do anything to see the increase of up to $200 in your benefit for the month. This is very convenient because you don’t have to worry about sending in paperwork. Anyone with an SSA benefit will be able to receive this increase automatically.
As far as the increase is concerned, we don’t have an exact figure yet. But some expert groups, such as The Senior Citizens League, say it could be as high as 10%, a 40-year record increase. Whatever it is, there is sure to be an increase and, therefore, retirees will not lose purchasing power, at least in part. We can only wait for the final announcement of the increase. Social Security will give the information to us to know for sure what the maximum benefit will be in 2023.