In 2012, Social Security Disability Beneficiaries Getting a 3.6% Bump

Social Security disability beneficiaries will receive a 3.6% increase in their payments starting in January of 2012. The increase, which is based off the data in the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, will be the first in three years. While the 3.6% increase is much needed after two years of going without one, it is still lower than the 4.2% average increase from years before. Since 1975, the last two years are the only ones that have not seen an increase.

While the increase may mean a little more money in the household, many reports warn that some of the increase will be lost to a higher Medicare premium. These premiums are deducted from beneficiary’s Social Security payments. Trustees who oversee the program are anticipating an increase. An announcement will be made next week concerning the Medicare premium.

Over the past two years, we have written many blog posts on the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). If you would like to learn a little more about how this increase, or the lack thereof for the past two years, was calculated, please check out some of the articles below:

• The Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA): An In-Depth Look at What It Is and How It Is Calculated
• Social Security Disability Benefits