US Announces Increase in Benefits for Social Security Recipients

 

The US Social Security Administration (SSA) has some good news for those who receive benefits: those payments will rise by nearly six percent by next year.

On Wednesday, the agency announced that its beneficiaries will see a 5.9 percent increase in their monthly benefit checks – about $92 per month — beginning in January.

This the largest increase in social security payments since 1982, according to SSA data.

Nearly 70 million people are affected by the decision, which came in response to a spike in inflation cause by bottlenecks in the supply chain, worker shortages and other COVID-19 pandemic issues.

The consumer price index rose by 5.4 percent in September over the previous year – the largest annual gain since 2008.