Does Social Security disability get cost of living increases?
In most years, disability recipients receive a small cost-of-living increase to their Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) or SSI disability benefits each year. The term the federal government uses for cost-of-living increases is “COLA,” which stands for cost-of-living adjustment.
The latest COLA is 1.3 percent for Social Security benefits and SSI payments. Social Security benefits will increase by 1.3 percent beginning with the December 2020 benefits, which are payable in January 2021. Federal SSI payment levels will also increase by 1.3 percent effective for payments made for January 2021.
The purpose of a COLA is to make sure that inflation (this is what happens when the prices of goods and services rise) doesn’t lead to your benefits being insufficient to purchase the things you need to live. For example, if one year the cost of goods and services were to cost twice as much on average as the year before, you would only be able to buy half as many goods and services with the same amount of money.
Exact increases for SSDI amounts depend on the lifetime earnings of the recipients, but the average increase for an SSDI recipient is $20 per month in 2020.
With the wild increases in housing costs that we are seeing this year, one must be concerned about the future. The current administration seems to be favorable to social causes. Perhaps they will address this area when the time comes.
Ben Winter, P.A. focuses its practice in the areas of Social Security Disability and Workers Compensation in St Petersburg, Florida. For more information, go to our web site www.benwinterlaw.com or call (727) 822-0100.