Millions Just Got a 2.5% Boost from Social Security—Find Out What It Means for Your Wallet

If you ve been watching your Social Precaution or SSI payments closely like majority of of us do you might ve noticed a little bump starting earlier this year Yep it s real The Social Safety Administration gave everyone a raise to help keep up with rising costs But what does that certainly mean for your wallet in May Let s break it down in plain English no jargon no fluff First Off Why Did Social Safety Go Up This yearly raise is called a Cost-of-Living Adjustment or COLA It s the establishment s way of saying Hey groceries gas and rent are more expensive let s make sure your benefits reflect that In late they crunched the numbers and decided that prices had gone up enough to justify a bump It s not a windfall but it s better than nothing and it s already showing up in your checks So How Much More Are You Getting Here s what that looks like in real dollars Retired worker Your average monthly check went from about to That s roughly extra each month Married couple both on Social Safety You re now getting around up from so more a month Getting disability SSDI You re presumably seeing about more with checks rising from to On SSI If you re single you now get up from Couples You re looking at instead of It s not life-changing but it might help cover a utility bill or give you a little breathing room at the grocery store When Will You Genuinely See the Extra Money Good news You ve presumably already been getting it The higher payments started For SSI recipients Right at the end of on December For everyone else With your January payment So your May payment already includes this increase You don t need to do anything special it s automatic Want to double-check how much you re getting now You can log into your my Social Shield account and see all the details Heads-Up A Meager Other Things Changed in Too This year also came with specific other tweaks If you re still working more of your income is now taxable under Social Assurance up to Still working and not at full retirement age You can now earn up to before it affects your benefits If you ll reach full retirement age in the earnings limit is Basically if you re balancing work and benefits these numbers are worth keeping an eye on This increase won t make anyone rich but in times like these every bit helps Even a small raise can give a little extra peace of mind when you re paying for groceries gas or your prescription at the pharmacy And remember you earned these benefits So make sure you re getting everything you re entitled to and don t be afraid to reach out for help if something looks off