The 2024 Social Security COLA announcement has everyone talking. But in conversations like these, it’s less about words and more about numbers.

This program is all about numbers. Retirement age, lifetime earnings, tax percentage — all these figures impact the final number retirees end up with. So while we know this cost-of-living adjustment increase is 3.2 percent (way down from last year’s 8.7 percent), many seniors wonder what that means.

How much will this increase translate to, as a dollar amount?

What Do You Think of This 2024 Social Security COLA Amount?

Per the Social Security Administration (SSA), seniors can expect a monthly payment increase of over $50.

We should note that everyone’s benefit amount is different, based on their own income and decision on when to claim benefits. This number could be a bit higher for some than others, but the SSA lists “over $50” as the average number of the increase.

What does that equate to in terms of actual spending power? Even if some estimates say prices have stopped rising, they haven’t dropped to pre-2020 levels.

What could this extra bit of money do for you? Sadly, in many areas, the answer is not much. It could function as half or less of a utility bill. In some areas, it would equate to the cost of one good meal out per month. For others, it’s a bit of extra money to invest.

No matter where you allocate it, this increase is not as high as seniors had hoped for. Here at NORA, we support any increase — but we also know seniors deserve more!

We hoped that the 2023 COLA would’ve started a trend that saw higher benefit increases each year. But this number serves as a big setback toward this goal, so it’s important to know how seniors feel about the change.

Share your input about this increase. Is $50 helpful to you? Are seniors being shorted here? We want to know your thoughts. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter after you comment so you never miss a future post.