Social Security COLA 2024: When Will My Benefits Increase Begin?
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Social Security recipients will get their final payment of 2023 next week, marking the end of this year’s 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The 2023 COLA was the highest in more than four decades and pushed the average Social Security check up by about $146 a month. Beginning in 2024, the COLA will be 3.2% — much lower than those approved in 2023 and 2022, but still higher than the average over the past decade.
Although the new COLA doesn’t technically go into effect until after the beginning of the new year, some Social Security beneficiaries will get the higher payments early. For that they can thank the New Year’s Day holiday, which falls on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
Normally, Social Security recipients who also qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits get their SSI checks on the first of each month. But because Jan.1, 2024, is a holiday, the January SSI payment is mailed on Dec. 29, 2023.
Other than that, all Social Security checks with the new 2024 COLA will be distributed after the beginning of the new year.
The 2024 payment schedule will include the usual quirks. SSI beneficiaries get two payments in May, August and November, while no payments are deposited in January, June and September. One check is issued the remaining six months: February, March, April, July, October and December.
Here are the important payment dates to know for January 2024:
- Wednesday, Jan. 3: Beneficiaries who began receiving payments before May 1997
- Wednesday, Jan. 10: Beneficiaries with a date of birth between the 1st and 10th
- Wednesday, Jan. 17: Beneficiaries with a date of birth between the 11th and 20th
- Wednesday, Jan. 24: Beneficiaries with a date of birth between the 21st and 31st
If you received Social Security before May 1997 or if you’re receiving both Social Security and SSI, then Social Security is typically paid on the 3rd of the month and SSI on the 1st.
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