It has been my custom for most of the past 25 years to write a year-end column that summarizes the Social Security changes and updates scheduled to take place the following year. I already discussed some of these changes in a column back in October when the updates were first announced. But it doesn’t hurt to repeat them here.
Almost all Social Security beneficiaries are familiar with the most popular and publicized upcoming change: the increase in monthly benefit checks for 2023 due to the automated cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. In fact, my wife and I just received our letters from the Social Security Administration telling us about the 8.7 percent increase, and I’m sure you got yours, too.
