Social Security Benefits to 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. 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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Tags: Cost of living adjustment, my Social Security, my Social Security account, Social Security benefits
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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emerson p.
How much am I get in my ssdi for cost liveing
V.V.
Hi Emerson, thanks for using the blog to ask your question. All monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 67 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2019.
The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 62 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2019. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2018.
Linda A.
So are we going to get the full amount of are we only going to get 5.00 again which doesn’t pay for a gallon of milk why does this keep happening l can not work because l have MS l can’t drive because of that but yet the top people that don’t do a thing for us but they make so much they don’t care about is !
I work from the day l was 16 years old till 2009 when my ME got the best of me I am now 71 lost my husband 4 yrs ago on thanksgiving day the 22 . So l lost his pension so all the AD and Medicare l pay for why l was working l get 5.00 something is wrong and it need to be fix !!!!!!!
Michael B.
Wat are the ages to retire the years you were born in like me 1960 is it 62 n 65 or 65 n 67
V.V.
Hi Michael. You may start receiving benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. Monthly benefits are reduced if you start them any time before your “full retirement age”. Your full retirement age depends on your date of birth. It may be between age 66 and 67. This could affect the amount of your benefits and when you want the benefits to start.
The Benefits Planner: Retirement provides detailed information about Social Security retirement benefits.
Lucy R.
Please have the tech reps send me an activation code again. I have a username but need to choose a new password for access. Many thanks.
V.V.
Hi Lucy. We offer various ways for you to reset your password. See our Frequently Asked Questions web page for more details.
Bryan M.
congress jimmy gomez xavier Becerra kamala harris wwe investor stakeholders sell it- buy it -own it-2327 Ridgeview ave home care center in los angeles ca 90041 wwe.com http://www.ssa.gov http://www.dor.ca.gov http://www.sba.gov http://www.usa.gov http://www.congress.gov eastern los angeles regional center P.O.BOX 7916 ALHAMBRA 91803-7916 TELEPHONE 1-626-299-4700 FAX 1-626-281-1163 sign bryanmiranda1028@gmail.com
PHYLLIS T.
What if I do not wish to go through this process right now but wish to view 2019 numbers to balance a budget for 2019?
Antonio R.
Will the Medicare part B premiums increase as well?
V.V.
Hello Antonio. Information about Medicare changes for 2019, when announced, will be available at http://www.medicare.gov.
For Social Security beneficiaries receiving Medicare, Social Security will not be able to compute their new benefit amount until after the Medicare premium amounts for 2019 are announced. Final 2019 benefit amounts will be communicated to beneficiaries in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security’s Message Center.
Floyd F.
We need a bigger raise. Went how long without one thanks to Obama and Congress. 2.8 isn’t squat for someone who doesn’t get much in the first place.
Eva J.
The site will not let me sign. Please help.
Lillian F.
when will i receive my social security benefits notice in the mail for 2019? It is important that I receive it soon.
V.V.
Hi Lillian. 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.