An eligible couple on Supplemental Security Income will see the federal monthly payment rise from $1,491 to $1,544 in 2027, an increase of $53. Social Security’s actuaries list the new couple rate in their table of SSI federal payment amounts, and the agency says increased payments to about 7.3 million SSI recipients will begin on…

Social Security says its 2027 cost-of-living notices will be available online in late November 2026 to most beneficiaries who created a my Social Security account by November 18. The agency announced on October 14 that benefits for 76 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2027, and the notice is the document that turns that…

Social Security’s 3.6 percent cost-of-living raise reaches nearly 72 million beneficiaries with their January 2027 payments, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced when it set the 2027 adjustment on October 14. SSA says the increase applies to 76 million Americans across Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and that the average retirement benefit rises…

About 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income will see a higher payment for the first time on December 31, 2026. Social Security says the 3.6 percent cost-of-living increase lifts the federal monthly SSI rate to $1,029 for an individual, up from $994, and to $1,544 for a couple, up from $1,491. The new SSI…

Congress has sent a bill to the White House that would give Social Security’s claiming ages new names, and it has not been signed. The Claiming Age Clarity Act, H.R. 5284, passed the Senate by unanimous consent in the week of October 1, 2026, after the House approved it in December 2025. Nothing about the…

When Social Security finds it overpaid someone on Supplemental Security Income, the agency generally withholds 10% of the maximum federal benefit rate from each month’s payment. The rule is spelled out in the agency’s overpayments publication, which in its currently posted edition is dated March 2024. The rate that tenth is measured against is a…

Workers who start Social Security before full retirement age lose benefits once their earnings pass a yearly limit, and in 2026 that limit is $24,480 for most of them and $65,160 for people who reach full retirement age during the year. Social Security’s own worked example for the higher limit shows what crossing it costs:…

The Treasury Department is ending paper checks for federal benefits, and people who cannot switch can ask for a waiver by phone. Social Security says federal law and Executive Order 14247 have required electronic payment since September 30, 2025, and that the agency is finishing the move for all beneficiaries during 2026. The waiver number…

Wisconsin adds $92.16 a month to the federal Supplemental Security Income check for an eligible individual living independently, and nobody has to apply for it. The state’s Department of Health Services says the supplement is paid automatically to anyone who qualifies for federal SSI. That brings the monthly total for an eligible individual to $1,086.16,…

Food that a relative, friend or charity gives to someone on Supplemental Security Income no longer lowers the monthly check. Social Security’s income rules page says that effective 09/30/2024, food is no longer included when the agency counts in-kind support and maintenance, and that the value of food will no longer reduce an SSI payment.…