Social Security's most popular claiming age is also its earliest: 62. Nearly a quarter of all seniors choose to sign up then to get as many checks as possible. But doing this comes at a cost. Claiming early reduces how much you get each month. Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are smaller, too, since they're based on a percentage of your benefit.
Thankfully, 2024's COLA will soon give all seniors a much-needed boost. Read below to learn what the earliest claimers can expect and what you can do if you don't feel your Social Security checks go far enough.
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A look ahead for early claimers
The Social Security Administration will send out COLA notices to all beneficiaries throughout the month that will outline their exact benefit increases before they receive their first 2024 checks next month. You can also view your COLA notice through your my Social Security account if you have one.
For those of you who aren't familiar, the government calculates your new benefit by applying the annual COLA -- 3.2% for 2024 -- to your primary insurance amount (PIA). This is the benefit you would have qualified for had you signed up at your full retirement age (FRA), which is between 66 and 67 for today's workers.
In the case of early claimers, the government then runs additional calculations to determine how much to reduce your new PIA to get to your 2024 benefit amount. But you don't need to understand how that works. You can approximate your 2024 benefit by adding 3.2% to your 2023 benefit. And the same strategy can be used to estimate how much the average 62-year-old will get in 2024.
The latest Social Security data about the average 62-year-old claimer's benefit comes from December 2022, where it's listed as $1,275 per month. But that doesn't include the 2023 or 2024 COLAs.
In 2023, Social Security saw its largest COLA in 40 years, at 8.7%. This was due to sky-high inflation during the pandemic. If you add 8.7% to the $1,275 average benefit from December 2022, you'll get an average of $1,386 per month for 2023.
If you add another 3.2% to that, you get an estimate of $1,430 per month for 2024 for 62-year-olds. That's an increase of about $44 per month. It's a bit less than the $59 monthly increase that the average Social Security beneficiary can expect, but that makes sense when you consider the benefit reduction for early claiming.
What if your Social Security checks won't go far enough?
It's possible you could wind up with more than the estimate above, even if you claimed Social Security early. Your benefit will depend on your income throughout your working years, and high earners could easily beat this average.
But even with the COLA, it's not unusual to worry about whether your checks will go as far in the future. Many have argued that the Social Security Administration should calculate its COLAs using the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), rather than the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which it uses now.
A change like this would lead to larger COLAs in most years. But only the government can make this happen, and major decisions like that usually don't happen quickly.
For now, it's up to each person to do what they can to make ends meet. Income from a job or personal savings are great supplements to your Social Security checks. And if those aren't available or aren't enough, investigate what other government benefits you may qualify for now.
Supplemental Security income (SSI), for example, is a monthly benefit administered by the Social Security Administration to low-income seniors 65 and older, as well as the blind and disabled. The size of your SSI check will vary depending on your income and state. But the federal maximum benefit will be $943 per month for an individual and $1,415 per month for a couple in 2024.
You may also qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which will help with grocery costs, or Medicaid, which can help with medical bills. Check with your state and local government, as well, to learn whether they can assist you with things like housing or utility costs.
If you have any questions about your Social Security benefit after receiving your COLA notice, reach out to the Social Security Administration with questions. You can contact it by phone, email, mail, or by visiting a local office.
