Depending on inflation, benefits can grow more or stay the same. In general, inflation tends to go up and so do Social Security retirement benefits. The average inflation is lower than the 2024 COLA increase, so, that means you will be receiving more money than usual.
Even if inflation may be lower than in 2023, the feeling among seniors is that everything they buy is more expensive. Therefore, they believe they are losing buying power. Remember that the 2023 COLA was the highest in about 40 years.
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It reached 8.7% and seniors could take advantage of collecting a much larger payment. Since Social Security takes into account the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), it may not be accurate since seniors do not make the same purchases as workers in the USA.
How much will Social Security retirement benefits increase?
The new COLA for 2024 will bring a boost of 3.2%, so, that means it will be 5.5% smaller than the 2023 COLA. Due to the fact that seniors older than 62 years of age received more money in 2023, it will be a letdown for millions of retirees in the United States.
To keep it simple, a 3.2% jump means for every 100 dollars you get, you will receive $103.20. For example, if you receive $1,000 in retirement benefits, you will cash $1,032. Then, your retirement benefits grow by 32 dollars per month if you collect $1,000.
Thus, a senior on Social Security that collects a payment worth $2,000, will receive double the previous amount. The $2,000 check will turn into $2,064. It is true that can be higher amounts, but they may not be that frequent.
The largest Social Security retirement checks will only be available for those high earners who had a really well-paid job for at least 35 years. Remember that your age can also reduce the amount of your monthly check. Social Security can reduce your check by 30% if you file at the age of 62.
What are the new amounts for Social Security retirement checks?
The largest retirement check you can cash this year is $4,555. After COLA, it will become $4,873 for those who retire at 70 in 2024. If you decide to retire at Full Retirement Age, then, the largest Social Security payment will be $3,822, up from $3,627.
As long as you can delay retirement, you will benefit from a Social Security reward. In fact, you could collect up to 24% extra per month for late retirement. The maximum amount at 62 is $2,572 in 2023, but it will go up and it will be $2,710 in 2024.
When it comes to average payments, that is a different story. Ideally, every senior would love to collect a large payment. However, only a very small percentage of retirees can achieve it.
For your information, the average payment was $1,486 as of September 2023. Then, if your check is something like this you will collect about $1,533 in 2024 with the 3.2% COLA increase.