Wiregrass Seniors Magazine December 2018 DECEMBER ISSUE | Page 14

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Social Security Information for 2019
Social Security Changes to Expect in 2019
Every October the Social Security
Administration (SSA)
announces its annual changes
to the Social Security
program. Here are the
changes set to take effect
Jan. 1, 2019, according to
the SSA's annual fact sheet.
Increased payments actually begin Dec. 31, 2018.
on income up to $128,400. Any earnings above that amount
were not subject to the tax. In 2019, the tax rate will re-
main the same at 6.2%, but the tax cap will increase to
$132,900.
The flip side of this is that as the taxable maximum in-
creases, so does the maximum amount of earnings used by
the SSA to calculate retirement benefits. In 2018, the maxi-
mum monthly Social Security benefit for a worker retiring
at full retirement age was $2,788. In 2019, the maximum
benefit will increase $73 per month to $2,861.
1. Beneficiaries will see a 2.8% increase in payments. 3. Full retirement age will continue to increase.
For 2019, more than 67 million Social Security benefi-
ciaries will see a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
This increase is meant to counteract the effect of infla-
tion. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculates the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Cleri-
cal Workers (CPI-W), and this calculation ensures that
your Social Security check has the same buying power
that it did the previous year. If the CPI-W increases more
than 0.1% year over year between the third quarter of the
previous year and the third quarter of the current year,
Social Security will raise your check by the same amount.
The 2.8% bump in 2019 represents a 0.8% increase over
last year’s 2% COLA and the largest increase since 2012
when benefits went up 3.6%. For the average Social Se-
curity recipient, however, this 2.8% raise will amount to
just $39 per month, as the average monthly payout in-
creases from $1,422 in 2018 to $1,461 in 2019.
The absolute earliest you can start claiming Social Secu-
rity retirement benefits is 62. However, claiming before
your full (or normal) retirement age will result in the pay-
out being permanently reduced. For those who turn 62 in
2018, full retirement age is 66 and four months. But for
those who turn 62 in 2019, the full retirement age will
increase to 66 and six months. Full retirement age is set to
increase by two months each year until it hits 67. So, for
anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age will be
67. (You can see your full retirement age here.)
If you delay collecting Social Security past your full re-
tirement age you can collect more than your full payout. In
fact, if you put off claiming until age 70 you will receive a
76% higher annual payout than if you started receiving
benefits at 62.
4. Earnings limits will increase.
2. Maximum taxable earnings will increase to $132,900. If you work while collecting Social Security benefits you
may find all or part of your benefits temporarily withheld,
In 2018, employees were required to pay a 6.2% Social depending on how much you earn. However, those income
Security tax (with their employer matching that payment) limits will increase slightly in 2019.