What is the cost-of-living increase for 2023?
The COLA was 11.2% that year. David Certner, legislative counsel and director of legislative policy for government affairs at AARP, says Social Security recipients can expect a COLA of 8-10% for 2023, though these estimates are preliminary and depend on consumer price data through September.
Social Security recipients are on pace to receive the biggest raise in more than 40 years for 2023, although cooling inflation has brought the projection down slightly from prior estimates. The projected cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2023 is 9.6%, according to the Senior Citizens League.
Next month, the Department of Health and Human Services will announce the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security benefits in 2023. Based on ongoing inflation, many analysts predict an increase approaching 10%, the biggest bump in more than 40 years.
Social Security beneficiaries received a record 5.9% COLA in 2022. But as inflation has climbed this year, that increase has lost its buying power, according to The Senior Citizens League.
David Certner, legislative counsel and director of legislative policy for government affairs at AARP, says Social Security recipients can expect a COLA of 8-10% for 2023, though these estimates are preliminary and depend on consumer price data through September.
A 9 percent COLA would boost the average Social Security retirement benefit by about $150 a month in 2023.
VERIFY already fact-checked one claim, and confirmed that Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is expected to be higher than average in 2023 due to inflation.
Phase in elimination by taxing all earnings above the current-law taxable maximum at: 2.48 percent in 2023, 4.96 percent in 2024, and so on, up to 12.40 percent in 2027.
THE ANSWER. No, Social Security recipients will not receive a bonus payment in September. Millions of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will receive two payments in September, but it is not an extra payment.
For context, the typical rate of inflation is usually closer to 3% a year. In fact, companies that give out cost-of-living raises (as opposed to merit raises, which are based on performance) commonly boost workers' pay by about 3% year after year. But given recent inflation, that won't really cut it going into 2022.
What percent is a cost of living raise?
We call such increases Cost-Of-Living Adjustments, or COLAs. We determined a 5.9-percent COLA on October 13, 2021. We will announce the next COLA in October 2022.
Year | COLA |
---|---|
2017 | 2.0 |
2018 | 2.8 |
2019 | 1.6 |
2020 | 1.3 |

For 2023, that means military retirees would see an average increase of more than $240 in their monthly retirement checks. Veterans receiving disability compensation from the VA also would see their monthly disability payments increase, with the average monthly amount going up by more than $150.
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