If you or your family members receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you will receive a 1.6% raise in your benefits in 2020.  The Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin in January.

Annual COLA adjustments take effect in January each year and are tied to any increase in the Consumer Price Index as measured by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the past 10 years, the Social Security and SSI COLA has averaged 1.5 percent.

If you receive benefits, you should be notified by mail in early December about your new benefit amounts. If you use the web-based “my Social Security,” you can view your notice online.

In addition, the Social Security Administration has made adjustments in Social Security base and earnings limits, which may affect you.

The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will increase 3.6 percent to $137,700. The earnings limit for workers who are younger than full retirement age (age 66 for people born in 1943 through 1954) will increase to $18,240. For Social Security recipients earning more than this, $1 will be deducted from benefits for each $2 earned over $18,240.

The earnings limit for people turning 66 in 2020 will increase to $48,600. (For Social Security recipients earning more than this, $1 will be deducted from benefits for each $3 earned over $48,600 until the month the worker turns age 66.

There is no limit on earnings for workers who are full retirement age or older for the entire year.

More information is available at the Social Security Administration website, or you can contact me or a member of your JDJ team for assistance.