The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently announced that its beneficiaries will see a 2.8 percent increase in their payments starting in 2019. The cost-of-living adjustment is the first of its sort to occur since 2012.
Currently, more than 67 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. Of those who do, 44 percent of the unmarried recipients say that 90 percent of their income comes from the SSA. Only 21 percent of the married individuals receiving the benefits say the same.
The cost-of-living adjustment is intended to help recipients maintain the same purchasing power that they’ve grown accustomed to. Lawmakers have historically passed the cost-of-living adjustment to ensure that recipients continue to be able to afford things when prices go up and no matter what age that they live to.
Lawmakers rely heavily on the Consumer Price Index to determine how much of a cost adjustment that they should authorize for any given year. It provides an estimate of what amount is required for an individual to attain a certain standard of life. They used this index to guide them toward instituting a 3.6 percent increase in 2012 and a .3 percent increase just last year.
Once the cost adjustment goes into effect, those receiving the average monthly benefit of $1,422 will see the amount that they receive go up by $39 per month or $468 per year.
Many applicants for Social Security benefits tend to believe that virtually any injury may qualify them to receive disability payments. Others tend to believe that just because they have a letter in hand from their doctor saying that they’re disabled, that they’ll qualify to receive benefits. It’s not that easy though.
A large majority of applications get denied the first time that someone applies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Entrust the handling of your case to a Trenton attorney who has more than 25 years of experience in helping others secure these benefits.