Boosted social security COLA checks are set to be sent out to millions of Americans within the next two days. Checks will be sent out on January 26, for those that were born on or after the 21st. This will be the third round of social security COLA payments. The cost of living adjustment checks have been raised an average of $92, for a total of $1,657. Before, the average check amount was $1,565.
The next check after this one will be sent out on Wednesday, February 9. This check is for the seniors that were born between the 1st and the 10th of the month. For those born between the 11th and 20th, their check will get sent out on Wednesday, February 16. It’s important to note that if you don’t get your payment on the expected day, you should wait for a few more before reaching out. If you still haven’t gotten your social security check three mailing days after its expected arrival, then you should reach out to the Social Security Administration.
Again, the average social security payment will be $1,657, but the maximum amount is much higher than that. The maximum amount that someone can be eligible for this year is $4,194. These numbers come after a COLA (cost of living adjustment) boost that was applied at the beginning of the year. All recipients of social security should’ve already gotten a letter in the mail explaining the COLA raise.
To get the full amount of social security, you had to have worked for at least 35 years. In addition to that, you must’ve made six-figure paychecks throughout your career. Lastly, you need to delay your social security claim for as long as possible. The amount that you get increases the longer you wait.
Social Security Benefits Go Up for All Due to Inflation
There are different types of social security benefits, of course. People can get retirement, disability, and survivors benefits. Additionally, there are Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. SSI benefits are for Americans that don’t make enough income on their own. Seniors can get both SSI benefits and social security benefits. For SSI benefits, the maximum amount of money has increased from $794 to $841.
The Sun reports that all kinds of benefits got a raise this year, due to inflation and a higher cost of living. The COLA boost for 2022 is a whopping 5.9%, which is the highest increase that benefits have seen in almost 40 years. To compare, COLA only increased 1.3% last year. Benefits rose almost as much in 2009, when COLA saw a 5.8% increase. Afterward, the adjustment rate was zero. Some are worried that even though benefits have increased greatly, the payments still won’t be enough to cover inflation.
