U.S. retirees see biggest Social Security hike in more than 40 years

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Social Security recipients will get the biggest boost to their monthly benefits in more than four decades, officials said on Thursday following the release of key inflation data that showed U.S. prices rising more than expected.

Retirees and other beneficiaries will get an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment starting in January, the U.S. Social Security Administration, which administers the benefit program, said in a statement. That is the biggest hike since 1981, when benefits rose 11.2%, according to the agency’s website.

The average recipient will see $140 more per month in their 2023 benefit checks, it added, benefiting about 70 million people receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) aid. The programs benefit older Americans who have retired from their jobs as well as the disabled and certain widows, widowers and children.

The hike comes as a U.S. Labor Department report on Thursday showed a measure of underlying inflation posted its biggest annual increase in 40 years.

The consumer price data showed rising rent, food and health care costs pressuring consumers.

Social Security officials, however, noted that premiums for the federal health insurance program Medicare are going down, giving older Americans “more peace of mind and breathing room” when coupled with the higher monthly checks.

“This year’s substantial Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is the first time in over a decade that Medicare premiums are not rising and shows that we can provide more support to older Americans who count on the benefits they have earned,” Kilolo Kijakazi, the agency’s acting commissioner, said in a statement.

Cost-of-living increases were lifted 5.9% last year but previously rose less than 3% a year for about a decade.

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