In late 2021, seniors on Social Security got some pretty good news — their benefits would be going up by 5.9% in 2022, representing their largest raise in decades. Meanwhile, the start of 2023 has brought about severe spikes in inflation. And that could set the stage for an even higher bump in benefits come 2023.
Will Social Security benefits go up even more?
In February, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI) rose 7.9% on an annual basis, marking its steepest annual gain in over 40 years. If this trend persists, then seniors on Social Security could see their benefits rise even more next year.
To be clear, though, it’s too soon to predict what 2023’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will look like. The reason? COLAs are based on CPI data from the third quarter of the year (and actually, Social Security uses a slightly different CPI — the CPI-W — to determine how much to boost benefits). And while there’s a strong chance rampant inflation will persist throughout 2022, inflation levels could also somehow subside by summertime…
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