Dear Colleagues and Partners:
On behalf of Mr. Romero, SAMHSA Regional Administrator for DHHS Region II, please see review the 2020 Social Security Benefit Announcement that may be of interest to you. Feel free to share, as you deem appropriate. See attached documents.
Social Security Announces 1.6 Percent Benefit Increase
for 2020
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 69 million Americans will increase 1.6 percent in 2020, the Social Security Administration announced today.
The 1.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 63 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2020. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2019. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $137,700 from $132,900.
Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail in early December about their new benefit amount. Most people who receive Social Security payments will be able to view their COLA notice online through their my Social Security account. People may create or access their my Social Security account online at https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=fc726231-a0264b1a-fc72530e-0cc47a6d17cc-e668a44322ea67a1&u=http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
Information about Medicare changes for 2020, when announced, will be available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries receiving Medicare, Social Security will not be able to compute their new benefit amount until after the Medicare premium amounts for 2020 are announced. Final 2020 benefit amounts will be communicated to beneficiaries in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security’s Message Center.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=7b86ded1-27d2f7fa-7b86efee-0cc47a6d17cc-a544180e45ef7d9a&u=http://www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.
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Warm Regards,
Laurie Albert
Administrative Assistant
HHS - SAMHSA Region II
26 Federal Plaza
Suite 3337
New York, NY 10278
Bus.: 212 264-5192
Email: Laurie.Albert@samhsa.hhs.gov