Social Security Recipients Might Actually Get to Keep Their 2023 Raise
One of the biggest advantages of Social Security is that its payments get annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). When inflation is high -- as seniors have seen during the past couple of years -- these COLAs cause monthly checks to rise the following January to help retiree purchasing power keep pace. 2022's COLA boosted benefits by 5.9% this year, and early estimates make it likely that the COLA that will take effect in early 2023 will be between 8% and 9%.
What's even better news is that, unlike in 2022, many Social Security recipients are more likely to see the full amount of their cost-of-living adjustment actually hit their bank accounts. That's because the impact of another key program for older Americans, Medicare, is likely to reverse the painful blow it dealt participants this time last year.
The 5.9% COLA that took effect at the beginning of 2022 increased benefits for about 70 million Americans. For the typical Social Security retiree, the upward adjustment boosted average benefits by about $90 to $1,614 per month.
Source Fool.com
