COLA Takes Effect With Sept. 30 Benefit Payment (2024)

FAQs

COLA Takes Effect With Sept. 30 Benefit Payment? ›

2024 through Aug. 2025 benefit payments is 1.8%. By law, eligible retirees who have an annual benefit of $18,000 or more will receive a monthly increase of $27 beginning with the Sept. 30 pension payment.

COLA adjustments are designed to counteract inflation, ensuring that the primary insurance amount (PIA) reflects current economic conditions. For those delaying retirement, the benefits of COLA compound with delayed retirement credits, potentially leading to substantially higher monthly payments.

COLA is an annual cost-of-living increase that begins the second calendar year after retirement and helps your retirement benefit keep up with the rate of inflation. Eligible retirees, including survivors and beneficiaries who receive a monthly benefit, receive COLA on their May 1 retirement check.

This Year's COLA Increase

The September 2024 COLA is 1.8 percent, for a maximum annual increase of $324, or $27 per month before taxes. The increase you receive each September is added to your existing monthly COLA amount.

Yes. We will notify you when your COLA payments will begin shortly after you meet the requirements. Your first payment will be retroactive to your eligibility date. Once COLA payments start, they will continue automatically and your benefit will be adjusted every September.

Future Retirees Benefit Too

Once you reach age 62 and are eligible for Social Security benefits, COLA increases begin to affect your benefits and grow your future payments.

Social Security benefits are adjusted annually for inflation, a feature generally unmatched by annuities or pensions. Those cost-of-living adjustments are another reason it pays to wait to claim benefits, as those annual increases are higher when applied to larger benefit amounts.

Will I get a cost of living increase? Yes, but you'll receive a prorated amount. We'll send you a letter explaining your increase. FERS annuitants under age 62 are not eligible for COLA increases unless certain conditions are met.

COLA is applied to a person's primary insurance amount, which is the amount of Social Security benefits they would receive at their full retirement age. Those who begin benefits early receive a reduced payment, while those who delay the start of Social Security get a larger amount.

* If you receive your Social Security or SSI benefit payment by direct deposit in your bank, we'll deposit the $250 one-time payment in your bank.

Will retirees get a raise in 2024? ›

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 71 million Americans will increase 3.2 percent in 2024.

Though a 2.5% hike would be less of an increase than the 3.2% received in 2024, it falls roughly within the bounds of the historical norm, which has averaged at about 2.6% over the past two decades. The COLA ran as low as 0.0% in 2010, 2011 and 2016, and as high as 8.7% in 2023.

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for September 2024 through August 2025 benefit payments is 1.8%.

This adjustment, subject to pension caps and limitations, is 50 percent of the previous year's annual rate of inflation, but never less than 1 percent or more than 3 percent of your benefit.

Latest COLA

Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2 percent beginning with the December 2023 benefits, which are payable in January 2024. Federal SSI payment levels will also increase by 3.2 percent effective for payments made for January 2024.

Initial COLA - FERS COLAs apply to retirees who were age 62 as of December 1. For FERS annuitants who are not eligible to receive a COLA during their first year (or more) on the annuity roll, the initial COLA received is the full COLA without proration.

Social Security retirement benefits are increased by a certain percentage for each month you delay starting your benefits beyond full retirement age. The benefit increase stops when you reach age 70.

Figure 1: BREAKING EVEN.

Want Social Security income starting after you turn 62? Fine, but by age 78 and 8 months, waiting until full retirement age will result in more lifetime earnings. If you can hold out until age 70 to begin drawing Social Security, age 82 and 6 months becomes the magic breakeven number.

If you're still waiting, a late payment doesn't always mean you won't get your money. You may be missing a payment because you closed your bank account, for example, or moved. Whatever the case, it's best to call the Social Security Administration to find out what's going on.

You can claim Social Security at age 69 and receive your full retirement age benefit plus three years' worth of delayed retirement credits or you can request a lump sum payout of six months of retroactive benefits.