What Does the Increased Social Security Benefit Really Mean?

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In 2023, the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security is increasing. As a result, more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries will receive an 8.7 percent increase in their benefits. That equals roughly $146 for the average Social Security recipient.

But that’s not all that’s going up. Someone has to pay for this increase. How will increasing the Social Security benefits help recipients? And who pays for it?

Good and Bad Benefits in 2022

In 2022, with 8.2 percent inflation, the Social Security benefit COLA was 5.9 percent. Although this seemed low at the time, it was the most increase since the 4.1 percent COLA in 2005.