Social Security Administration announces Cost-Of-Living (COLA) Increase

There's some good news if social security is a big part of your monthly income. You'll soon have a little more cash to put in your pocket.

Social Security checks are going up $63 a month for the typical retiree — the largest increase in more than a quarter century.

The 5.8 percent increase announced Thursday by the Social Security Administration will go to the 50 million Americans receiving benefits. It is the biggest jump since the 7.4 percent of 1982. The $63 typical monthly increase compares to the $24 advance
that retirees saw in this year's benefit checks, an increase of just 2.3 percent and the smallest in four years.

The typical retiree's monthly check will go from $1,090 to $1,153.

The Social Security increase is based on changes in the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index in the July-September quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.