Social Security Announces 5.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2009

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Social Security Announces 5.8 Percent Benefit Increase for 2009

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/2009cola-pr.htm

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for

more than 55 million Americans will increase 5.8 percent in 2009, the

Social Security Administration announced today. The 5.8 percent

increase is the largest since 1982.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase

automatically each year based on the rise in the Bureau of Labor

Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical

Workers (CPI-W), from the third quarter of the prior year to the

corresponding period of the current year. This year's increase in

the CPI-W was 5.8 percent.

The 5.8 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin with

benefits that over 50 million Social Security beneficiaries receive

in January 2009. Increased payments to more than 7 million

Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 31.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based

on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the

maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax

(taxable maximum) will increase to $106,800 from $102,000. Of the

estimated 164 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in

2009, about 11 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the

increase in the taxable maximum.

Information about Medicare changes for 2009 can be found at

www.medicare.gov.