Retirees: Here's How Big Your Social Security Benefit Could Be in 2023
Social Security is a key source of financial well-being in retirement. In fact, 55% of retired workers say monthly benefits are a "major source" of income, and another 34% say they are a "minor source" of income, according to a Gallup poll. Put another way, nearly 90% the nation's retirees depend on Social Security benefits to some degree.
Unfortunately, many of those individuals now find themselves in difficult financial straits. Scorching inflation hit a four-decade high on several occasions in 2022, and necessities like gas, groceries, and electricity have notched double-digit price increases over the past year, easily outpacing the 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied to Social Security benefits in 2022. In other words, benefits have lost buying power this year.
To account for that, Social Security checks will get an 8.7% COLA in 2023 -- the largest COLA in four decades, and the fourth-largest COLA in history. That extra cash should help retired workers and other beneficiaries battle runaway inflation.
Source Fool.com
