The
payments for most recipients will rise in January, though a
smaller pool will start receiving their larger checks in
December.
The average Social Security retiree benefit recipient will see a
monthly payment of $1,657 next year versus $1,565 in 2021, an
increase of $92 per month. The maximum benefit for a worker
retiring at "full retirement age" will rise by $197 a month to
$3,345 from $3,148.
The increase is the largest cost of living adjustment, or COLA,
since a 7.4% increase announced in 1982 for the following year's
benefits. It is more than four times the increase beneficiaries
saw this year, which was 1.3%.
The COLA is determined each year based on the Consumer Price
Index's annual increase for the third quarter. Data out from the
Labor Department on Wednesday showed the CPI for September rose
by 5.4% from a year earlier, matching the highest inflation rate
since 2008.
The maximum income subject to the 6.2% Social Security payroll
tax is also rising next year. Individuals will be taxed on the
first $147,000 of income, up $4,200 from $142,800 this year.
(Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea Ricci, Kirsten
Donovan)
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