Social Security recipients will receive an annual cost of living adjustment of 5.9% next year, the largest increase since 1982, the Social Security Administration announced Wednesday.
The spike will boost retirees’ monthly payments by $92 to an estimated $1,657 for 2022. “This would be the highest COLA that most beneficiaries living today have ever seen,” said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to go on a spending spree. The reason for the hike is because inflation is soaring too. The roughly 70 million people who get Social Security, including retirees, Americans with disabilities and others, receive a cost of living adjustment, or COLA, each year. It’s based on a one-year increase in inflation and is designed to help beneficiaries cope when prices rise. In 2021, the adjustment was 1.3% — which translated into a roughly $20 a month increase for retired workers. After decades of inadequate increases, the 2022 boost finally matches beneficiaries’ rising costs more closely, said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group.
