The 2024 Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) takes effect in January.
Social Security recipients will see their benefits increase by 3.2% in 2024. The Social Security Administration announced the hike in October.
The cost-of-living increase will also boost Supplemental Security Income benefits. Over 71 million Americans will benefit from the increase, the administration said.
Social Security retirement benefits will increase by over $50 a month on average once the raise starts.
The 3.2% hike is the smallest increase since 2021, when beneficiaries received a 1.3% bump.
The smaller increase comes after a raise of 8.7% in 2023. That was the highest increase in more than four decades. Beneficiaries received an increase of 5.9% in 2022.
The increase for 2024 is still higher than the average raise over the last 20 years of 2.6%, according to The Senior Citizens League, a nonprofit that advocates on issues affecting seniors.
The Social Security Administration announces a cost-of-live adjustment (COLA) for Social Security recipients each fall. The bumps are tied to inflation and meant to help seniors and other beneficiaries keep up with rising prices.
Big increases in the previous two years came thanks to the highest inflation in decades.
And while inflation has eased from its peak, seniors and other Social Security recipients are still struggling with higher prices, according to the Senior Citizens League.
Social Security’s benefits overall are modest, the league says. They typically replace roughly one-third of a middle earner’s average wages.
In addition, most adults claim benefits before reaching full retirement age and receive permanently reduced benefits as a result, according to the league.