1. Social Security Is Paying 8.7% More

In March 2023, around 66.4 million Americans received a Social Security benefit. Most of these beneficiaries are retired workers, many of whom count on their monthly checks to cover some part of their living expenses.

For those people, no event brings more change than the annual cost-of-living adjustment (also known as COLA) announcement from the SSA during the second week of October. This year saw one of the highest jumps in Social Security benefits since the 1980s. With inflation going wild in 2022, the SSA increased the average payout to beneficiaries by 8.7%.

David Berns of Truadvice Wealth Management sees this as a very positive change because Social Security is the only inflation-adjusted investment backed by the US government. While recipients get an 8.7% increase for 2023, this lets us know the SSA and Fed are aware of the current inflation rate.

Does every retiree get this 8.7% increase? Keep reading to find out!