COLA

Social Security Benefits to Increase in 2019

October 11, 2018 • By

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Last Updated: November 3, 2023

man and woman on balcony outside smiling 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. By law, federal benefits 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 monthly benefit levels and helps you keep up with the changing cost of living.

As a result, more than 67 million Americans will see a 2.8 percent increase in their Social Security and SSI benefits in 2019.

January 2019 marks other changes that will happen based on the increase in the national average wage index. For example, the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll tax, as well as the retirement earnings test exempt amount, will change in 2019.

Want to know your new benefit amount as soon as possible? In December 2018, we will post Social Security COLA notices online for retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries who have a personal my Social Security account. You will be able to view and save these COLA notices securely via the Message Center inside my Social Security.

Be the first to know! Sign up for or log in to your personal my Social Security account today and choose email or text under “Message Center Preferences” to receive courtesy notifications so you won’t miss your electronic COLA notice!

This year, you will still receive 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.

You can find more information about the 2019 COLA here.

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About the Author

Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications

Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications

Comments

  1. MalcolmWindom j.

    There’s more lies coming from your fucktards mouth you say there will be a cola you are a bunch of fucken liers that like to make people believe it and you all give them the sucker you’re despicable and outrageous shady practices are the most sickening i would not let my dog apply for benefits you all are a bunch of fucken crooks that tells people one thing then tell another thing so I don’t fucken believe you bunch of fucken cockroaches there’s not going be a cola I don’t believe you go back to your fucken layer where you belong and shut the fuck up I don’t believe you! And tell the fucken truth bitch!

  2. Charles C.

    This is a very helpful publication. Great information. “Thanks!”

  3. Subhas C.

    I did not get this year the”Medicare & You 2019″ book yhis year. Please send me the book in this address:-
    Subhas C Das
    Valley Oaks Dr,
    78641.

    Thank you.

    • V.V.

      Hi there. You can obtain the Medicare and You Handbook 2019 by visiting Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) (TTY 1-877-486-2048).

  4. Brenda T.

    Great

  5. Margaret E.

    I’ve not received any “Notice that my Social Security Disability, is “Raising for the Year of 2019.” How or when will this, 2,8%, be “Mailed to me.”?

    • V.V.

      Hi Margaret. Your COLA notice will be available online in the Message Center of your my Social Security account in December 2018. Although you will still receive this COLA notice by mail this year, in the future, you will have a choice of online or paper notification.

      For more details, check out our Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information web page.

  6. Shirley A.

    is there going to be an increase in 2019 i think we have a 5.00 dollar raise in 5 years

    • V.V.

      Hi Shirley. Recently, we announced a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2019. More than 67 million Americans who receive monthly benefits will automatically receive the increase.
      The COLA will take effect with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments paid on December 31, 2018, and Social Security payments paid in January 2019. You can find useful information on the 2019 Medicare changes, when announced, at http://www.medicare.gov.

      For more details about the new COLA, visit http://www.ssa.gov/cola.

  7. Robert J.

    2.8% cola is repulsive when people are getting raises from $7.25 an hour up $10 to $15. per hour. they get that just to keep up. or get a little bit ahead. How far does $estimated $21 per month take a person on SSI who didn’t ask to sick and is nearly forced to move in with someone they don’t even know. This is truly a sad day for our government.

  8. Jenny S.

    I set up my account 7 years ago an have never used it. I cannot log into my account now nor can i recover it due to changing my email address an forgetting it. How can i recover my account

    • K.O.

      Hi Jenny. If you are unable to access your my Social Security account, 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
      •Contact your local Social Security office. Hope this helps.

  9. ronald d.

    who can get cola

  10. Charlena M.

    Question: With a 2.8% COLA increase, what will the Medicare cost increase be?

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