Why Your Max Social Security Benefit Will Increase in 2024

Social Security is responding to elevated inflation with recipients seeing their maximum benefit increasing in 2024.

The maximum Social Security benefit for workers retiring at full retirement age will go up to $3,800 from about $3,600 a month. Full retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later is 67, which is when these full benefits can kick in, according to the agency.

After record inflation over the last two years that at one point hit levels not seen in 40 years, the Social Security Administration instituted a 3.2 percent cost of living adjustment that will come into effect in 2024.

All retired workers will see their monthly Social Security benefits go up to about $1,900 per month from $1850, according to the SSA. Couples will see their payments increase to a little over $3,000 from about $2,940. Widowed mothers with two children will receive about $3,653 while widowers without children will see checks of about $1,800. Disabled workers with a spouse and at least one child will now get a little over $2,720 and all disable workers will be entitled to close to $1,540 a month in payments.

More than 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits--about 1 in 5 people. Americans can start to collect Social Security benefits as early as 62 years old.

"However, you are entitled to full benefits when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit amount will increase," according to the SSA. "If you start receiving benefits early, your benefits are reduced a small percent for each month before your full retirement age."

The 2024 cost of living adjustment was lower than the 8.7 retirees received in 2023.

Newsweek contacted the Social Security Administration for comment via email Thursday.

Part of the explanation may be due to prices soaring last year where at one point they hit 9 percent in the summer of 2022.

The rise in inflation prompted the Federal Reserve to institute the most aggressive series of rate hikes since the 1980s, which pushed up borrowing costs for everything from homes, cars to business investment. That has helped lower inflation to 3.2 percent in October.

The central bank's favored measurement of inflation--the personal consumption expenditure--is at 3 percent. While inflation has declined, it is still higher than the 2 percent target that policymakers would prefer it to be.

Since 1975, Social Security benefits have been subject to automatic cost of living adjustments connected to a rise in prices so as the payments retirees receive reflect the changes of the cost of things in the market.

"The change means that inflation no longer drains value from Social Security benefits," the SSA has said.