Social Security payouts will increase by an unprecedented amount from January.

The payments of millions of Social Security users will grow by 8.7 percent in 2023, a historic increase that will be partially offset by the rising cost of living.

The typical beneficiary will start receiving more than $140 more per month starting in January thanks to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is the greatest in more than 40 years, according to the Social Security Administration.
Although the benefit increase was welcomed by Social Security recipients, many felt it fell short of mitigating the effects of inflation.

Shirley Parker, an 85-year-old resident of Chatham on the South Side of Chicago, described it as “not much help.”

Her budget is being severely impacted by increasing grocery prices and home maintenance charges. “Food is nonsense. I leave with a bag of goods worth $50 but only have approximately ten items, she claimed.

The Social Security COLA was created to aid beneficiaries in managing the rising prices of fuel, food, and other goods and services. How well it performs will depend on how inflation behaves in the future.

A separate government data released on Thursday revealed a recent acceleration in inflation. After only increasing by 0.1 percent in August, the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.4 percent in September and is now up 8.2 percent over the previous 12 months. The number of unemployment compensation claims increased for the week.

The inflation announcement caused the stock market to start the day down, but it soon recovered.

According to a fact sheet from the Social Security Administration, the expected average monthly Social Security payout for all retired workers will be $1,827 beginning in January.