Inflation continues to rise across America (albeit at much more stable levels than last year). When thousands of families were subsisting on stimulus checks, some long-awaited news has been confirmed. The change in the COLA for June 2024 will be the best news heading into the summer, and now Social Security has just confirmed it. What will happen, and how will it affect you? We’ll break it down for you in detail.
There is a new change in COLA for June: Have we already reached the inflation “peak”?
With the start of summer fast approaching, millions of Americans are waiting on the edge of their seats to access the latest Social Security benefits. In recent news, the Social Security Administration (SSA) unveiled the COLA scheduled for June 2024, making many recipients happy with an increased paycheck.
However, in this article, the primary focus will be to explain the COLA and how it will affect those under the Social Security program. The SSA has stated this week that the cost of SSA has increased by 3.
It shall go into effect beginning with benefits paid in January 2024. This factor is calculated above from the third quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2022, based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Social Security benefits will also change: this is how it will affect you.
People who depend on Social Security will have their payout hiked by 2% COLA; this translates to more than 71,000,000 individuals. The increase will go into effect with benefits payable in January 2024, with only SSI payments payable on the 29th of December 2023.
This, therefore, means that the benefits holders will receive more money in their check-in in January 2024 in terms of the quantity that shall have been added to their monthly cash. This also applies to changes in the maximum taxable earnings for Social Security, as prescribed under the COLA.
For the workers below the full retirement age, the current incorporated income will rise to $22,320; for those who want to retire in 2024, the incorporated income will be $59,520. Another advantage occurs to persons 65 years and above because they are not subjected to any earnings restriction.
The changes don’t end there: Social Security asks you to do this.
Suppose you are a Social Security beneficiary enrolled in Medicare Part B and will receive a COLA-increased benefit amount next year, 2024. In that case, you can retrieve the details in December through the letter with your COLA notice and the online platform, my Social Security Message Center.
Beneficiaries can wait to receive their COLA notices in the mail, which should start in December. Individuals can also choose to receive them through their own Social Security account, which makes it easier for the concerned individuals to access this information online.
The online notices will start in early December, which was chosen as the time will come when Social Security fund beneficiaries will be able to plan themselves financially. They will also affect hypothetical stimulus checks granted by the states (as long as they are not linked to Tax Rebates or surpluses, as is often the case).
According to official sources, this change in the COLA for June 2024 will be an “adaptation to extraordinary economic circumstances,” according to official sources. However, it is expected to continue throughout the second half of the year and to be taken into account for the Social Security payments already being distributed (although we cannot confirm the latter 100%, we will do so when the time comes).
