How 2024 Social Security COLA Compares to Previous Years

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Seniors' cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2024 is going to be much lower than the one that millions of recipients got this year, the Social Security Administration announced on Thursday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, published Thursday morning, the press office of the SSA declared next year's COLA to be 3.2 percent, a number that has been widely predicted by analysts and experts following the issue closely.

"#BreakingNews - The 2024 COLA is 3.2%. More to come shortly...," wrote the federal agency on X.

Last month, the Senior Citizens League (TSCL)—a nonpartisan advocacy group for America's elderly—had anticipated the 2024 COLA to be 3.2 percent—up from its 3 percent prediction in August due to a slight increase in consumer price data.

The COLA is calculated every year based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) during July, August and September of the current year which is then compared to the same period in the previous year. The COLA amount is then calculated as the percentage difference between the two.

The 2024 COLA is considerably lower than the 8.7 percent increase given to recipients in the year 2023, which represented the biggest hike since 1981 and was done in light of the vertiginous surge in inflation between 2021 and 2022.

More than 71 million Americans—including many with disabilities or on low incomes—receive Social Security benefits every year, with the SSA paying an annual total of about $1.4 trillion.

According to the SSA, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by more than $50 per month starting in January. While over 66 million recipients will get the COLA then, some 7.5 million receiving Supplementary Security Income (SSI) benefits will see the increased payments a little earlier, starting on December 29.

"Social Security and SSI benefits will increase in 2024, and this will help millions of people keep up with expenses," Acting Commissioner of Social Security Kilolo Kijakazi said.

Others are skeptical that the 2024 COLA will be enough to help seniors struggling with the higher cost of living.

"The seventy-one million Americans who rely on their earned Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will undoubtedly benefit from this modest cost-of-living increase, but it is not enough," said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in a statement sent to Newsweek.

"The increase amounts to an additional $59 per month for the average retired worker. A COLA increase is always welcome news, but too many older Americans will continue to struggle to pay for basics like food, housing, and prescription drugs."

"The 3.2 percent Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2024 announced today by The Social Security Administration is well above the 2.6 percent average over the past 20 years, but a new retirement survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) indicates that older adults are pessimistic about their finances in coming months and the growing potential for Social Security benefit cuts," a press release by TSCL shared with Newsweek on Thursday reads.

Social Security COLA
Stock image of a Social Security card. The SSA's press office announced today that the 2024 COLA will be 3.2 percent, a significantly lower amount than this year's adjustment. Getty Images

Some 68 percent of survey participants reported to TSCL that their household expenses remain at least 10 percent higher than one year ago, although the overall inflation rate has slowed. Some 56 percent of respondents worry that their retirement income won't be enough to cover the cost of essentials in the coming month, and nearly 6 out of 10 are concerned about security benefits cuts.

Despite having more or less consistently dropped for months, inflation remains much higher than the Federal Reserve's target of 2 percent, at 3.67 percent in September, the latest data available.

On Thursday, new data show that U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in the year through September, remaining unchanged from the previous months.

Update, 10/12/23, 10:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from SSA Acting Commissioner of Social Security Kilolo Kijakazi and Richard Fiesta, the executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more