It's official. On Thursday, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024. Next year's Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be much smaller than the 8.7% bump in 2023. However, it will nonetheless help the federal program's recipients cope with the rising costs of products and services.
But just how much extra money will beneficiaries receive? Here's exactly how much the average Social Security payment will be in 2024.
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Retirement benefit averages
Nearly 49.7 million retired Americans receive Social Security retirement benefits. This is the biggest group of Social Security beneficiaries by far, making up 74.5% of total beneficiaries.
In August 2023, the average monthly payment for retired workers was $1,840.27. The 2024 COLA of 3.2% will add $58.89 per month in benefits to this average. This brings the total to $1,899.16 per month, which amounts to $22,789.92 per year.
Social Security retirement benefits are also paid to more than 1.9 million spouses of retired workers. The average monthly benefit for these spouses in August 2023 was $889.61. With the 2024 adjustment, this total will increase by $28.47 per month to $918.08. On an annual basis, this translates to $11,016.96.
In certain cases, children of retired workers are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. This is a relatively small group, numbering 673,000 in August 2023. The average monthly benefit for these children of retired workers was $859.47. With the 2024 COLA in effect, this average will increase by $27.50 to $886.97 per month ($10,643.64 per year).
It's important to keep in mind, though, that the average monthly benefits change from one month to the next. New beneficiaries begin receiving benefits and previous Social Security beneficiaries die each month, causing the averages to fluctuate a little.
Survivor benefit averages
Social Security doesn't just pay retirement benefits. The program pays benefits to survivors of deceased workers, as well.
In August, the average monthly benefit for children of deceased workers was $1,067.20. The 3.2% increase in 2024 will add another $34.15 per month to this amount, bringing the total to $1,101.35 per month ($13,216.20 per year).
The average payment to widowed mothers and fathers in August was $1,241.27 per month. This monthly average will jump by $39.72 next year to $1,280.99, which amounts to an annual total of $15,371.88.
Nondisabled widows and widowers received an average Social Security benefit of $1,715.77 per month in August. The 2024 COLA will boost this amount by $54.90 to $1,770.67 per month. On an annualized basis, the average will be $21,248.04 with next year's increase.
Survivor benefits for disabled widows and widowers averaged $895.66 per month in August. Applying the 3.2% increase to this amount will result in an extra $28.66 per month. Accordingly, the group's average benefit will grow to $924.32 per month ($11,091.84 per year).
There's also a small number of parents of deceased workers who receive Social Security survivor benefits. The average monthly payment for these individuals in August was $1,538.65. Next year's COLA will increase this average by $49.24 to 1,587.89 per month, which translates to $19,054.68 per year.
Disability benefit averages
Social Security also pays disability benefits. Nearly 7.5 million disabled workers received an average monthly payment of $1,486.83 in August. Come January 2024, this average will increase by $47.58 to $1,534.41 per month ($18,412.92 per year).
Spouses of disabled workers received an average benefit of $408 per month. Next year's COLA will bump this amount up by $13.06 to $421.06 per month ($5,052.72 per year).
Finally, children of disabled workers were paid an average of $472.28 per month in disability benefits in August. With the upcoming increase, this average will rise by $15.11 to $487.39 per month ($5,848.68 per year).
