WELFARE
Social Security COLA 2024 increase: official amount and who will it benefit?
The increase has just been announced and as anticipated it is much smaller than last year’s 8.7% whopper.
The cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase for 2024 has just been announced. It is 3.2%, as had been expected by analysts, meaning government programmes will be increased by this amount for 2024.
A projection made by The Senior Citizens League, one of the largest nonpartisan senior groups in the United States, had anticipated that the increase to COLA for 2024 would be 3.2 percent
How was this figure calculated?
The increase to the COLA is made based on the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for Salaried Workers in Urban Areas and Administrative Workers (CPI-W).
To determine this, the SSA compares the CPI-W for the third quarter of the year - July, August and September - to the CPI-W for the third quarter of the current year. The difference between one and the other will be the equivalent of the increase in COLA.
Who will it benefit from the increase?
Although Social Security benefits are the most affected by the COLA increase due to the large number of people who receive them, other benefits are also affected. These are the following:
- Disability Insurance Benefits (SSDI)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Subsidy to purchase clothing (Eligible Veterans)
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC): For Veteran Survivors
- SNAP benefits: Help purchasing food
- Military pensions and disability payments
- Government pensions (However, the FERS increase may differ from CSRS)