Social Security Benefits Increase in 2019
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: November 3, 2023
Each year we announce the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Usually, there is an increase in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit amount people receive each month, starting the following January. Law requires that federal benefit rates increase when the cost of living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
The CPI-W rises when prices increase for the things the average consumer buys. This means that when prices for goods and services we purchase become more expensive, on average, the COLA increases benefits and helps beneficiaries keep up with the changing cost of living.
More than 67 million Americans will see a 2.8 percent increase in their Social Security and SSI benefits in 2019.
This month marks other changes based on the increase in the national average wage index. For example, the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll tax will increase to $132,900 in 2019. The retirement earnings test exempt amount will also increase.
Want to know your new benefit amount? In December 2018, we posted Social Security COLA notices online for retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries who have a my Social Security account. You can view and save these COLA notices securely via the Message Center inside my Social Security.
Next year, be the first to know! Sign up for or log in to your personal my Social Security account. Choose email or text under “Message Center Preferences” to receive courtesy notifications so you won’t miss your electronic COLA notice!
This year, even if you accessed your COLA notice online, you still received your COLA notice by mail. In the future, you will be able to choose whether you receive your notice online instead of on paper. Online notices will not be available to representative payees, individuals with foreign mailing addresses, or those who pay higher Medicare premiums due to their income. We plan to expand the availability of COLA notices to additional online customers in the future.
Check our website for more information about the 2019 COLA. You can also read our publication Cost-of-Living Adjustment.
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Tags: Cost of living adjustment
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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jim s.
I have problems with your site. I have problems with all sites. the high level admin that decide what to put on sites, just dont have the right moxy. They dont first write info that people really want to know. they right what they guess we want to know. second they dont review to see how easy webmasters make it for us to find info.
for example I searched on your site the hold harmless provision. that should be simple, but every return told me about my 2019 colo, not about, how my soc sec is affected by medicare. Now I dont know who is the law department involved. but what I read otherwise suggest its soc sec law that has the hold harmless provision. so, if I reach someone who really wants to help correctly and fully and not some bureaucrat, then I hope you email me with the full correct in simple English contents of who is held harmless and who isn’t, and also what the provision says about subsequent year colas, and their being reduced due to your banking prior year medicare B increases (what I mean here is that maybe in one year, my soc sec isn’t reduced due to medicare increase, because no increase in soc sec. but next year my soc sec would increase but I dont get any increase cuz it gets absorbed by prior year increase). In all this, I state that congress too often makes things to complicated, and too stupid, often benefiting favorite few. Soc sec should go up if cola supports it. Medicare should also go up if their cola supports it. But to carry medicare increases forward forever to absorb subsequent soc sec increases means we that get peanuts soc sec never get any more. That is my case. Also, I really wonder where the gov got their poverty figures since 11,500 will not pay rent, car payment & its license & insurance, utilizes and groceries for one person, unless living in a tent in public free campground. Does the well to do realize even renting a sleeping room in a hotel or a home is still 400 to 500 a month that 5 to 6 grand a year, What will the well to do when the separation is so great, that 80% of us will not be able to buy food or must sleep outside and bath in the river like in 1800. thank you so please answer me fully accurately as to hold harmless provisions and the banking of medicare increases I referred to. thank you again
A.C.
Hi, Jim. When there is an increase in the Medicare Part B premium, a statutory “hold harmless” provision protects approximately 70 percent of Medicare Part B enrollees from paying a higher Part B premium to avoid reducing their net Social Security benefit. Enrollees not protected include higher income individuals subject to an income-adjusted Part B premium and beneficiaries newly entitled to Part B in 2019. Additionally, enrollees who have their Medicare Part B premiums paid by state Medicaid agencies will see no change in their Social Security benefit. The state will pay any Medicare Part B premium increase. See Medicare 2019 costs at a glance, here. We hope this helps.
Shirley V.
My Social Security was raised by $3.00 Wow!!
Martha C.
will there be a Cola increase for 2020
L.A.
Hi Martha. Thanks for your question. We will not know if there will be a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2020, nor the amount of the COLA, until the Department of Labor releases information on inflation for the past year. Please check our internet page socialsecurity.gov for the latest news and updates on the COLA.
Vicki R.
@peacock6 on Twitter says President Trump has increased all SS check to a minimum of $2500 …
IS THIS TRUE?
CANT FIND REAL DETAILS ANYWHERE!
IF SO WHY AM I STILL GETTING “SAME PREVIOUS AMOUNT”???
JUST ASKING!
V. ROBERTS
Evon C.
We need a copy of our 2019 benefits and I am not sure what site to go to for it,could you help us please? It is for Carson L Corrigan and Evon M Corrigan. Carsons number is evons is *** – ** – *** Thanks
V.V.
Hi Evon, thanks for using our blog. It appears as though you are asking for a benefit verification letter. You can obtain that online instantly by using your personal my Social Security account. This letter is sometimes called a budget letter, a benefits letter, a proof of income letter or a proof of award letter. To set up your account, visit the my Social Security web page and select, “Sign In or Create an Account.” You will need to provide some personal information to verify your identity, choose a username and password and follow the rest of the steps to finish creating your account. Once you create your account, scroll down to the Benefits and Payments section and choose “get benefit verification letter” where you can instantly view, print, or save your official letter.
If you are unable to create an account or encounter a problem, you may call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. At the voice prompt, say “helpdesk” or you can contact your local Social Security office.
A.C.
Hi, Evon. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. You can request a replacement SSA-1099/1042S for Tax Year 2018 by visiting your personal my Social Security account. You can also contact or visit your local Social Security office. They can assist with a replacement 1099. We hope this helps.
Johnie M.
Why did my Medicare insurance premium increase the exact same amount as my social security cost of living benefit? I simply don’t understand how that happened. Can I pay my own insurance premium?
Stephen S.
need award letter for Stephen H Stephens and Kathleen M Stephwns
V.V.
Hi Stephen, thank you for using our blog. You can get a benefit verification letter online instantly by using your personal my Social Security account. This letter is sometimes called a budget letter, a benefits letter, a proof of income letter or a proof of award letter. To set up your account, visit the my Social Security web page and select, “Sign In or Create an Account.” You will need to provide some personal information to verify your identity, choose a username and password and follow the rest of the steps to finish creating your account.
Once you create your account, scroll down to the Benefits and Payments section and choose “get benefit verification letter” where you can instantly view, print, or save your official letter.
If you are unable to create an account or encounter a problem, you may call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. At the voice prompt, say “helpdesk” or you can contact your local Social Security office.
William M.
I’m on retired disability benefits and ssi disability benefits will see an increase ??
Dorothy B.
I received a letter stating what my benefits would be for 2019 after the COLA and they were exactly the same as they have been for two years!
Noël S.
There was no dollar amount increase in my payment after COLA!! Please make proper adjustments.
V.V.
Hi Noel. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums. The Social Security Act contains a “hold harmless” provision that protects most beneficiaries. The amount of the benefit will stay the same even though the Medicare Part B premium increases. For information about Medicare premiums in 2019, visit http://www.medicare.gov.