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In the month of July approximately 66 million Americans received their Social Security payments, which averaged $1,703.98 dollars; however, these amounts may vary depending on the 2024 cost of living adjustment (COLA).
At the moment, retired workers, disabled workers, survivors and spouses receive a specific payment depending on your retirement age or your status at the time of requesting the benefit this year, the payments are maintained as follows:
- Retired workers: $1,838.58 dollars.
- Disabled workers: $1,349, $44.
- Survivors: $1,454.08 dollars.
- Spouses: $891.32 dollars.
However, each year the program usually undergoes several changes, including the annual COLA. This adjustment counteracts inflation that little by little reduces purchasing power of the population and helps the beneficiaries to be above the prices of the inflationary rate.
How much will the benefits be?
Although the official calculations of the COLA 2024 have not yet been made, which must be waited until October 12 of this year, everything indicates that it will probably be located at 3%, this figure is an estimate by various experts, since to arrive at these calculations the inflation of the months of August and September must be taken into account.
However, if the COLA increases by 3% next year, this would generate an increase in the main four Social Security beneficiaries, leaving it as follows:
- Retired workers: $1,893.74 dollars, that is, $55.16 more dollars.
- Disabled workers: $1,389.92 dollars, this is $40.48 more dollars.
- Spouses: $918.06, which is $26.74 more.
- Survivors: $1,497.70 dollars one more $43.62 dollars.
How is the COLA calculated?
To calculate the cost of living (COLA) it is important to have the data from the Consumer Price Index for wage earners and urban administrative workers (IPC-W), so the figure of this CPI-W of the third quarter of the year is taken into account and compared with the third quarter of the previous year and the percentage increase difference is established as the COLA of the following year.
For this month, the Labor Department plans to release inflation data for September, plus the latest reading of the CPI-W.
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