How to calculate your Social Security COLA for 2024

There are two ways you can calculate how much your 2024 monthly Social Security check may be, according to Joe Elsasser, a certified financial planner and founder and president of Covisum, a provider of Social Security claiming software.

The best way is to take the amount of your current Social Security check and add back your monthly Medicare Part B premium, if it is deducted from your check. In 2023, the standard monthly Part B premium is $164.90. However, higher-income beneficiaries pay more, including single individuals with more than $97,000 in income and married couples with more than $194,000.

Then, apply the COLA to the entire benefit, including what you are having withheld for taxes. Next, subtract the new Medicare Part B premium for 2024, as well as taxes at the rate you have withheld. Next year, the standard monthly Part B premium will be $174.70. Higher-income individuals with more than $103,000 in income and married couples with more than $206,000 will pay more.

That should give you the size of your benefit for next year, according to Elsasser.

Alternatively, you can do a rough calculation by taking the monthly benefit you’re getting today and multiplying by 1.032.

“It would be a rough calculation, but it’s a reasonable guess,” Elsasser said.

How your 2024 benefit compares to others

The maximum benefit for a retired worker who claims at full retirement age will go up to $3,822 per month in 2024, up from $3,627 per month in 2023.

The average benefit for all retired workers will be $1,907 in 2024, up from $1,848 in 2023, according to the Social Security Administration.

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