[Nfbf-l] Social security benefits to increase in 2019.

[Sherri Brun]

Good morning,

 

I just got this message from the Social Security Administration and it
directed me to the article, which I have pasted below.

 

 

Social Security Benefits to Increase in 2019

 

Posted on October 11, 2018  by  Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for
Communications 

  

 

Each year we announce the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Usually
there 

is an increase in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
benefit amount people receive each month, 

starting the following January. By law, federal benefits increase when the
cost of living rises, as measured by the 

Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

 

The CPI-W rises when prices increase for the things the average consumer
buys. This means that when prices for goods and 

services we purchase become more expensive, on average, the COLA increases
monthly benefit levels and helps you keep up 

with the changing cost of living.

 

As a result, more than 67 million Americans will see a 2.8 percent increase
in their Social Security and SSI benefits in 

2019.

 

January 2019 marks other changes that will happen based on the increase in
the national average wage index. For example, 

the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll tax, as
well as the retirement earnings test exempt 

amount, will change in 2019.

 

Want to know your new benefit amount as soon as possible? In December 2018,
we will post Social Security COLA notices 

online for retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries who have a my
Social Security account. You will be able to 

view and save these COLA notices securely via the Message Center inside my
Social Security.

 

Be the first to know! Sign up for or log in to your personal my Social
Security account today and choose email or text 

under "Message Center Preferences" to receive courtesy notifications so you
won't miss your electronic COLA notice!

 

This year, you will still receive your COLA notice by mail. In the future,
you will be able to choose whether you receive 

your notice online instead of on paper. Online notices will not be available
to representative payees, individuals with 

foreign mailing addresses, or those who pay higher Medicare premiums due to
their income. We plan to expand the 

availability of COLA notices to additional online customers in the future.

 

You can find more information about the 2019 COLA here.

 

 

Sherri Brun

flmom2006 at gmail.com

President NFB of Central Florida

NFBF Newsline Marketer

Phone:  1-844-827-7371

                                The National Federation of the Blind knows
that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future.
Every day we raise the expectations

of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind
people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what
holds you back.  

Together with love, hope, and determination, we transform dreams into
reality.