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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Maria S.
My name is Maria Santana, I am retired with the full retirement age, I am still working and already turned 70 years, my employer makes the discounts for Medicare and SS, I wonder if my retirement will continue to increase each year to continue active working . (regardless of the cost of living increase)
Barbara S.
Mother is Maria Santana, I am retired with the full age of jubilicion, I still find myself working and already turned 70 years, my employer makes the discounts for Medicare and SS, I wonder if my retirement will continue to increase each year to continue active working . (regardless of the cost of living increase)
V.V.
Hi Barbara, thank you for using our blog to ask your question. Generally, if you continue to work while receiving retirement benefits, your monthly benefit amount may increase. As long as you continue to work and receive benefits, we will check your record every year to see whether the additional earnings will increase your monthly benefit. If there is an increase, we will send you a letter telling you of your new benefit amount. You can call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 for further assistance. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thanks!
Barbara S.
My name is Maria Santana, I am retired with the full age of jubilicion, I still find myself working and already turned 70 years, my employer makes the discounts for Medicare and SS, I wonder if my retirement will continue to increase each year to continue active working . (regardless of the cost of living increase)
Maria S.
My name is Maria Santana, I am retired with the full age of jubilicion, I still find myself working and already turned 70 years, my employer makes the discounts for Medicare and SS, I wonder if my retirement will continue to increase each year to continue active working . (regardless of the cost of living increase)
Maria S.
Mi nombre es Maria Santana, Estoy retirada con la edad plena de jubilicion, aun me encuentro trabajando y ya cumpli 70 años , mi empleador realiza los descuentos para Medicare y SS, quisiera saber si mi jubilacion , seguira aumentando cada año por continuar activa trabajando.( independientemente del aumento del costo de vida)
Maria S.
I need information if people who receive SSA and still work will continue to increase their work retirement after 70 years, and their employer continues to discount for Mediacare and SS
Lex R.
Actually changing the payment from the month before to the month after decreased the social security payments by one month. Applying the law retroactively to include people already on social security results in the ssa claiming an over payment and demanding the recipients pay back the money. You may think that you got a raise but infarct the recipients got an 8% decrease.
Jerome M.
When we retired at age 66, my spouse received 50 % of my benefit. Every year she receives a % increase like I receive, which has reduced her to less than 50 % of my benefit. Why does she not continue to receive 50 % of my C.O.L.A. adjusted benefit, rather than a % of the original 50 % benefit she received, which has reduced her benefit to below 50 % of my benefit. This does not sound correct when she was promised 50 % of my benefit.
Marian D.
Thank you for my new benefits statement for 2019.
My husband, Arthur B. Jackson has not received his.
V.V.
Hi Marian, thank you for using our blog. Your husband can request a replacement 2018 SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S after February 1 using his my Social Security account. If he doesn’t have an account, he can create one. Once logged in, he selects the “Replacement Documents” tab.
If he is unable to create a my Social Security account or does not want to request it online, he may call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or he can contact his local Social Security office.
Also, he may want to ensure that the address he has on file with Social Security is accurate.
sepehr
This post was useful. Thank you for publishing this post
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