Social Security Administration announces 1.3 % benefit increase for 2021

New York: The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced today, that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase by 1.3 percent in 2021. According to SSA, the 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2021. 

Increased payments to more than eight million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2020.  (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some other adjustments 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 $142,800 from $137,700.