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How many social security payments remain for 2021?
The final Social Security check will be sent in December. Starting in January, beneficiaries will see the 5.9 percent COLA increase applied to their checks.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that over the last year consumer prices have increased 6.3 percent. Social security beneficiaries have not received compensation that has allowed many to keep up with the alarming increase in prices.
This has had devastating consequences.
After conducting a survey, the Senior Citizens League's Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst reported the distributing fact that a "large number of survey participants have been forced to access food pantries." This came after the organization also found "over the past 21 years, COLAs have raised Social Security benefits by 55 percent but housing costs rose nearly 118 percent and healthcare costs rose 145 percent over the same period."
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Will the December social security check be bigger?
No. Beneficiaries should not expect a larger check in December 2021. The COLA increase of 5.9 percent announced by the Social Security Administration in October will not be applied until January 2022. The December check will be the last payment distributed in 2021. In October 2021, the average benefit for retired workers was $1,562.66, meaning that when the 2022 COLA is applied the benefit amount would increase to $1,654.85. This represents an increase of $92.
How many social security checks are sent each year?
Those who receive social security benefits receive twelve checks each year, one a month. Those who were born between the first and tenth of the given month will receive their checks on the second Wednesday of every month. For those born between the eleventh and the twentieth, the checks will come on the third Wednesday, and on the fourth, those born after the twenty-first.
Retirement beneficiares (October 2021)
Who can receive social security benefits?
- Retired workers (72.3 percent of total beneficiaries)
- Spouses of retired workers (3.4 percent)
- Children of retired workers (1.0 percent)
Survivor benefits
Who can receive social security benefits?
- Children of deceased workers (3 percent)
- Widowed mothers and fathers (0.2 percent)
- Nondisabled widow(er) (5.5 percent)
- Disabled widow(er)s (0.3 percent)
- Parents of deceased workers
Source: Social Security Adminstration
Will the COLA be applied to Supplemental Security Income?
Yes. Those who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will also see a 5.9 percent increase applied to their monthly checks. In October 2021, the average benefit amount for those on SSI was $587. If the average remains the same, in January, the average will increase to $621 or by around $34.
Breakdown by Supplement Security Income recipients by age group
- Under 18 (13.5 percent)
- 18-64 (56.9 percent)
- Over 65 (29.6 percent)
Source: Social Security Administration