Social Security recipients are getting a raise.
More than 71 million Americans will see a 3.2 percent increase in their Social Security checks in 2024. That increase, which adds an more than $50 per month on average, hit some checks Friday and will continue this month and throughout the year.
The raise is due to a cost-of-living adjustment that the Social Security Administration said will help recipients keep up with expenses. It’s the third year in a row inflation has prompted an increase in benefit payments, though the previous two years were larger: a historic 8.7 percent increase in 2023 and a 5.9 increase in 2022.
Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will see the increase. People who receive both Social Security and SSI will see cost-of-living increases to both benefits.
As of November, the average monthly Social Security benefit was about $1,711 and the average monthly SSI benefit was about $674, according to the Social Security Administration. The cost-of-living adjustment would add to those amounts.
Social Security payment calendar
Social Security benefits are paid out based on the day of a recipient’s birth.
For example:
- Beneficiaries born from the 1st and 10th of the month will receive payments on the second Wednesday of the month. The first cost-of-living increase will be received in checks on Jan. 10.
- Beneficiaries born from the 11th to the 20th of the month will receive payments on the third Wednesday of the month. The first cost-of-living increase will be received in checks on Jan. 17.
- Beneficiaries born from the 21st to the 31st of the month will receive payments on the fourth Wednesday of the month. The first cost-of-living increase will be received in checks on Jan. 24.
SSI benefits are typically paid on the first of the month. But because Jan. 1 is a federal holiday, checks were distributed the Friday before. SSI recipients saw their first cost-of-living increase on Dec. 29.