SSA Acting Director: Medicare Premiums To Go Down Next Year
The Social Security Administration this morning announced that approximately 70 million Americans on Social Security and and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will see an 8.7% cost of living increase in benefits in 2023, which averages out to about $140 extra in benefits per month starting in January.
SSA calls the increase a “substantial Social Security cost-of-living adjustment,” which is tied to the Consumer Price Index cost of living adjustment set by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More than 7 million SSI beneficiaries will begin receiving the COLA on December 30, 2022, while benefits paid to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries are slated to start in January 2023, per the Social Security Act. Some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits.
And, according to Acting SSA Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi, another bit of good news is that senior adults Medicare premiums are going down next year, for the first time in over a decade Medicare premiums haven’t risen year-to-year. That, the acting director said, is an indicator “that we can provide more support to older Americans who count on the benefits they have earned.”
Of course, there will be other financial tax adjustments that go into effect in January, including the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social security tax. That rate will increase from $147,000 to $160,200, which the Oct. 13, 2022 SSA release stated is based on the increase in average wages.
Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail starting in early December about their new benefit amount. The fastest way to find out their new benefit amount is to access their personal my Social Security account to view the COLA notice online. SSA claims the site is a secure and easy way to find out their amount before the mail arrives. People can also opt to receive a text or email alert instead of a mailed notice when they have a new message from Social Security–such as their COLA notice. People may create or access their my Social Security account online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
Information about Medicare changes for 2023 is available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare, their new higher 2023 benefit amount will be available in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security‘s Message Center.
To view the full COLA message from Acting Commissioner Kijakazi, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgm5q4YT1AM.
To read more about how the Social Security Act stipulates COLA is to be calculate., visit www.ssa.gov/cola.
