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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Linda B.
And California will remove it like they did last year!! Why bother?
M. G.
Nice and Thank you.
J P.
That’s lovely… I’ll tell my mother. She received a raise in 2018 of 2% and it went straight to Medicare. So, in reality, she received zero raise to help her offset the cost of living. For the past three years she has received the same monthly amount despite the fact that her living expenses increased so I truly hope that in January 2019 she will finally get to see some increase actually go into her pocket. Keeping my fingers crossed for her and all the others that rely so heavily on that income.
Jeri W.
Will the 2019 COLA be added to our Medicare deduction or will we get that in our monthly net income? Thank you.
R.F.
Thank you for your question, Jeri. 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.
Lucy
Why is it that the COLA is so low and the Part A medical premium goes up more than the COLA? Participants are not really getting an increase it is actually going back to SS. Plus a few dollars out of out check.
RON A.
Can’t get too excited until I see how much Medicare premiums increase, which I had hoped you would have included in your report.
As you know, prior years premiums increased in many cases, the same, or almost the same, as the amount of S/S increase. So I think I’ll wait before spending anything extra!!!?
R.F.
Hello Ron. 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.
Thanks!
Kimberly W.
Question, will a portion of this increase be subject to Medical payments. The last time my parents received the increase, they were not awarded the full benefit of the increase because they took a big portion for Increased Medical.. That is so wrong…
R.F.
Hello Kimberly. 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.
Thanks!
Anna D.
Each time we get an increase in out SSI, Medicare also is increased by the same amount so we, as seniors don’t see an increase so why bother to tell us?
R.F.
Thank you for your comment, Anna. 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.
JOSE M.
Thanks for the information, i got one other thing to inform you about it, im living overseas since 2007, i retire on 4-2007, wel at about the same time i acesse mi SS acc w, since last year for some some problems with mi logtop i no longer can acess mi ss acc, wend i try to sing in, it does not go true, then i try to give mi information and i get a resonse tel me they dont have anny information about mi ss num, even mi name, well i try to do it again, and got a unser that mi information is there,so i canot make it again, i agree, but it makes me think wy they dont have the information, wend i try to login but then teling me they do have it wend i try to make as new, til now as i ask for anny help, never got a unser, and stil i canot singin on my SS ACC, and i do get emails like today from you with information important to me, sorry for the long message, thanks.
JOSE M. JORGE
R.F.
Thank you for contacting us, Jose. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate you trying to use our online services. At this time you must have a U.S. mailing address to create or to access your online account. The “my Social Security” authentication system requires address verification as one of the essential criteria for issuing an account. People with APO/FPO/DPO addresses can create an account overseas, but our system does not support registration and account creation for users with a foreign address yet.
For assistance related to their Social Security benefits, we recommend that individuals living outside the United States contact their nearest Federal Benefits Unit or U.S. Embassy in their area (by phone or email). Also, our Office of International Operations home page provides more information to assist our customers living abroad.
We hope this information helps!
Emily C.
Will our deduction for Medicare increase too?
R.F.
Hello Emily. 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. Thanks!