Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday morning.
That adds about $50 monthly to the average retirement benefit consumers will receive beginning in January.
The agency said increased payments to people receiving SSI will begin on Dec. 29.
“Social Security and SSI benefits will increase in 2024, and this will help millions of people keep up with expenses,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security.
The cost of living adjustment is calculated based on an average of the inflation readings for the months of July, August and September. Specifically, it’s based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The CPI-W rose 3.6% in July, 3.4% in August and 3.6% in September, according to the latest inflation data released by the bureau on Thursday.
Inflation rocketed to 40-year highs in 2022 in the wake of a combination of pandemic stimulus payments, an increase in shopping and spending, and widespread supply chain problems. That prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at a rapid pace. The benchmark U.S. interest rate is now the highest it’s been in more than 20 years.
That has slowed the economy somewhat in 2023 compared to last year, but inflation remains higher than it was throughout the 2010s.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
