Social Security recipients to see biggest COLA increase since 1981

Social Security benefits are set to rise by 8.7% in 2023, the biggest bump in four decades as stubbornly high inflation erodes the buying power of retired Americans, the Social Security Administration said Thursday. 

The increase, known as a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), is the biggest since 1981, when recipients saw an 11.2% jump. It will increase the average monthly benefit by about $140. 

More than 64 million Americans collecting Social Security will receive the bigger payments beginning in January, the administration said. 

The higher payments come in response to the hottest inflation in four decades: Prices paid by U.S. consumers surged 8.2% in September from the previous year, the Labor Department reported Thursday, despite an aggressive campaign by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation.  

It also comes as the national debt tops $31 trillion for the first time.