To help people who receive benefits and payments keep up with the changing cost of living, Social Security beneficiaries often receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Each year, Social Security bases the COLA on changes in the Consumer Price Index.
For 2023, Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments will increase by 8.7%. This means that more than 70 million Americans will see a change in their benefit payments.
Find Out Your New Benefit Amount
my Social Security accounts are secure ways to verify and manage your benefits. By creating a free, personal account, you can check your Social Security statement, change your address, report your wages and more.
If you don’t have a my Social Security account, you can sign up for one today. Once you log in to your account, you can manage your notification preferences under “Message Center Preferences” to start receiving courtesy messages either in your email or as a text message. Social Security will send a message to the Message Center inbox in your account and, if you’ve signed up for courtesy notifications, you will receive an email and/or text message to let you know you have a message waiting in your account.
From the Social Security Administration:
In December 2022, Social Security COLA notices will be available online to most beneficiaries in the message center of their my Social Security account. Remember, you’ll still receive your notice in the mail, but you can also choose to receive COLA notices online through your my Social Security account.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 8.7 percent in 2023, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January.
The 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2023. Increased payments to more than 7 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2022. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Medicare premiums are going down and Social Security benefits are going up in 2023, which will give seniors more peace of mind and breathing room. This year’s substantial Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is the first time in over a decade that Medicare premiums are not rising and shows that we can provide more support to older Americans who count on the benefits they have earned,” Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi said.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $160,200 from $147,000.
Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail starting in early December about their new benefit amount. The fastest way to find out their new benefit amount is to access their personal my Social Security account to view the COLA notice online. It’s secure, easy, and people find out before the mail arrives. People can also opt to receive a text or email alert when there is a new message from Social Security–such as their COLA notice–waiting for them, rather than receiving a letter in the mail. People may create or access their my Social Security account online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
Information about Medicare changes for 2023 is available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare, their new higher 2023 benefit amount will be available in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security’s Message Center.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.ssa.gov/cola.