October 16 is a big day for millions of people in the United States who depend on Social Security to make a living.
Today, people who get money from the program will get their payments adjusted for the annual cost-of-living raise (COLA) for 2024. This is an attempt to lessen the effects of inflation, though opinions on how well it will work are still mixed.
People are both happy and upset about this year’s COLA boost. On the one hand, weekly payments for people who depend on these payments have gone up a little.
This is an attempt to balance out rising prices, especially for food and energy. Even though the raise of 3.2% was made, many people say it is not enough to fully offset the effects of inflation, which has made some recipients unhappy.
Today’s payments will not be bigger than the ones that came before them. The biggest payment will be $4,873 to the person who has been contributing the longest. We will get the same amount in October as we have in the past few months.
This payment, which is the biggest one that qualifies people can get, is a relief, but it is known that it will not completely solve recipients’ money problems.
The new COLA payments also take into account ongoing changes in the market and policies put in place by the government to protect the buying power of the weakest Americans.
Who gets Social Security with COLA 2024 today?
The new 2024 COLA payouts go into effect today, October 16. They will affect millions of Social Security recipients, such as retirees, disabled people, and the families of workers who have died.
It includes people who get monthly payments through the program, not just those who are retired, but also those who get disability benefits, survivor pensions, and other types of Social Security help.
People who will get Social Security payments with the COLA 2024 that was just announced are those who:
- Have a Social Security check from after May 1997.
- Have a birthday between the 11th and 20th of any month.
There is no difference between the types of benefits or the amounts we receive each month. But for those who are eligible, the rise in this COLA 2024 can be big. Payments will depend on the type of benefit and the number of years the beneficiary has contributed.
In general, people who have paid into the system for a longer period of time will get a bigger payment, while people who have paid into the system for a shorter period of time will get a smaller rise.
This change is meant to help lessen the effects of inflation, especially on basic costs like rent, energy, and food.
What will Social Security’s 2025 COLA be?
The 2025 COLA has already been approved, and it will mean that Social Security payouts will go up by 2.5%. Even though this change is less than the 2024 COLA, it is still very important to help beneficiaries keep their buying power as prices rise.
For people who have been contributing for a long time, the biggest check will reach $5,180 next year. This is a big increase from 2024.
The decrease in the percentage is reasonable because inflation has slowed down since last year, even though the gain is not as big.
However, a lot of people are still worried that this Social Security COLA raise will not be enough to cover the full effects of rising prices on things like food and housing. This shows how the system is not very flexible when the world economy changes.
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