COLA 2024: How much will SSI benefits increase next year?

The Social Security Administration has finally announced what the cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be in 2024.

After the Bureau of Labor Statistics shared the latest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Workers and Clerical Workers or CPI-W data needed to calculate the cost of living adjustment, the SSA announced that the COLA for next year will be 3.2%.

This percentage will apply to all Social Security benefits, including those for retired workers, survivors, and Social Security Disability Insurance.

It will also benefit those who receive payments from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

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COLA 2024: How much will SSI benefits increase next year?

The maximum monthly SSI payments this year are $914 for an individual and $1,371 for a married couple where both spouses are eligible for the program.

With the COLA increase of 3.2%, for next year the amounts would be $943 and $1,414.80, respectively.

Although the COLA has already been announced, the increase in payments will go into effect in December and will be applied for the first time in January 2024 Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments.

READ ALSO: When will I receive the first payment with the new COLA amount?

For SSI, monthly payments are sent on the first day of the month. However, if the first day of the month falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the payment is advanced to the last Friday of the previous month. If it falls on a holiday, it is shipped the first business day prior.

Therefore, the increased January 2024 payment of the Supplemental Security Income is brought forward, being sent on December 29, 2023, since the first day of 2024 is a holiday.

Understanding COLA and how it is calculated

The COLA is calculated based on annual changes in the CPI-W. The SSA takes into account the CPI-W data from the third quarter of the previous year and compares it with that of the third quarter of the current year; that is, the data from July, August and September of both years are compared.

If there has been an annual increase in CPI-W, the SSA increases Social Security and SSI payments by that percentage.