When the first of the year arrives, recipients of benefits overseen by the Social Security Administration (SSA) will get a nice surprise in the form of an 8.7% increase in those very benefits.
This group includes the millions of disabled workers who receive Social Security (SSD) benefits because their medical ailment or condition that prevents from working at least a year.
Disabled workers may expect $120 increase
In mid-October, the SSA made the long-expected announcement to implement the 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), affecting people who receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and SSD benefits.
The COLA change represents the biggest increase since 1981. More than 40 years ago, Social Security program recipients experienced an increase of 11.2%.
Come Jan. 1, disabled workers should see a monthly payment increase of around $120. In September, disabled workers received average payments of $1,363. Their new amount of the average benefit payment should be $1,483.
This change will affect the more than 7.7 million disabled workers who currently receive SSD benefits. In addition, the 93,000 spouses and 1.2 million children who receive SSD benefits will see the 8.7% increase, too.
Some respite arrives
With the country currently in the throes of inflation and U.S. consumers seeing greater sticker shock at grocery stores, gas stations and retail stores, the SSA announcement may bring some respite to recipients of these much-needed benefits. Still, many of the disabled workers on SSD benefits are eager to return to work.
