Social Security Payments To Increase In January By 1.3%

If you’re one of 70 million on Social Security, and increase is heading your way.

Officials say they’re expecting a 1.3% increase in benefit payments starting in January, to account for the rising cost of living.

The SSA says that amounts to around $20 more per month for the average person on SSI, however if you started at full retirement age it could go as high as $137 per month.

Retirement age is now 67 for those born 1960 or later.

The agency also has a new taxable income threshold on which workers will owe the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax.

Starting next year, the first $142,800 of a person’s wages is subject to that tax, up from $137,700 currently.

Those who are self-employed would owe around 12.4% in payroll taxes, because they would owe both the employee (6.2%) and the employer (6.2%) portions of the payroll tax.