Social Security benefits will increase by 1.7 percent next year

(Image credit: iStock)

The more than 70 million older Americans who receive federal benefits will see a small bump in their monthly payments next year, the government announced Wednesday. This is the third year the annual increase bucks the trend and stays below the 2-percent mark.

By law, the automatic increase is based on the inflation rate, which is also 1.7 percent and is well below historical averages.

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Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.