It's been a tough couple of years for Social Security recipients. Inflation has sent the cost of living sharply higher, and it's taken time for increases in Social Security benefits to take effect. After a painful period in which the Consumer Price Index has risen by 7.1% over the past 12 months, those who rely on Social Security are only now seeing the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) reflecting those price changes appear in their monthly benefit checks.

With 2023's COLA set to boost Social Security payments by 8.7% starting in January, it's understandable that many people are excited to get a little extra cash from the federal government. However, there's a way that you could get an even bigger raise in your Social Security in 2024.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) gives retirement benefit recipients who have reached full retirement age (FRA) the ability to suspend their benefits. For those born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67, while those born between 1943 and 1954 have an FRA of 66, and those born between 1955 and 1959 add two months to the 66-year-old FRA for each year between 1954 and the year of their birth.

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Source Fool.com