Increase in your Social Security benefits: Which states will it be higher in and why?

• Monthly Social Security benefits will have an increase for next year. We explain in which states the increase will be greater and why.

Each month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends payments to retired workers as well as disabled individuals eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

These payments are affected each year by various factors, including the cost of living adjustment (COLA), which is regulated based on inflation, specifically the CPI-W, so as not to harm the purchasing power of the beneficiaries.

Increase in your Social Security benefits: Which states will it be higher in and why?

According to a recent analysis by The Senior Citizens League, the increase for 2023 could be 8.7%, due to high levels of inflation. Taking this percentage into account, the increase would be around $144 dollars, going from $1,657 dollars per month, which is the national average payment this year, to $1,801.

SSA will release the official cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase in October. This will take effect in December and the updated benefits will start from January 2023.

In which states will the increase be greatest and why?

Each year, the Social Security Administration publishes a statistical supplement that contains a large amount of data, including some geographic tables that describe how much money was paid to eligible retired workers, their spouses, and their children, for each state.

Thanks to these data, it is possible to calculate the average monthly benefit in each entity. According to Sean Williams of The Motley Fool, next year, retirees in the following five states can expect a bigger “increase” on their Social Security payments:

• Connecticut: The average monthly retirement benefit would increase from $146.87 to $835.06.
• New Jersey: The average monthly retirement benefit would increase from $146.67 to $1,832.60.
• Delaware: The average monthly retirement benefit would increase from $144.39 to $1,804.09.
• New Hampshire: The average monthly retirement benefit would increase from $143.67 to $1,794.99.
• Maryland: The average monthly retirement benefit would increase from $141.92 to $1,773.25.

It is important to mention that these states will have a “larger increase” because the COLA is applied on the payment of this 2022, which in these entities is higher.