Social Security benefits increase by 8.7 percent to account for inflation


The Social Security Administration has announced an 8.7 percent increase in benefit checks for seniors in 2023 in response to rising inflation. This is the largest increase in the last 40 years. This change is known as a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), explains The Washington Post.
The adjustment will affect 70.3 million Social Security beneficiaries and will provide about $145 more per month on average, the Post continues. The last time the adjustment was this large was in 1981 when the COLA was 11.2 percent. Along with check increases, the Medicare Part B premium will also be $5.20 lower than last year, a value that is automatically deducted from benefit checks, CNBC reports. This means that beneficiaries get to keep almost all of the COLA, which will help with rising prices due to inflation.
Social Security is the most common income source for the elderly in the United States. Rapid price increases are reducing the value of each check, requiring COLA, however, these adjustments are also straining Social Security's resources. With each adjustment, the program becomes more likely to be exhausted entirely, reports the Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Social Security Board of Trustees reported in June that Social Security will be able to pay full benefits through 2035, after which it will be able to pay 80 percent of benefits. However, higher wages may lead to more taxes being put into the fund, offsetting the depletion, continues CNBC.
AARP executive Jo Ann Jenkins said the adjustment "helps ensure the benefit does not erode over time due to rising prices."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advice
the explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'
Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious characters
Feature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
A potential railway megamerger raises monopoly questions
The Explainer Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would create the country's largest railway operator
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits