SSDI payments in 2020 stayed the same from 2019 to mid-2020, then increased in December

The federal benefit rate — the base amount the Social Security Administration uses to calculate SSDI payments — did not change from January through November 2020. If you were receiving SSDI in January 2020, your monthly payment remained the same through that entire period.

In December 2020, the Social Security Administration announced a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 1.3 percent, effective January 2021. This meant that starting in January 2021, most SSDI recipients saw their monthly payment increase by roughly 1.3 percent. The exact dollar amount of the increase depended on what you were already receiving.

If you were on SSDI throughout 2020, you would have received the same payment for eleven months, then a slightly higher payment beginning in January 2021. If you were approved for SSDI during 2020, your initial payment would have been calculated using the 2020 federal benefit rate in effect at the time of approval.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI payments did not increase from January through November 2020; the federal benefit rate remained flat.
  • A 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment took effect in January 2021, raising payments for most recipients who were on the rolls in December 2020.
  • The amount of your increase in January 2021 depended on your individual payment amount at the time the adjustment was applied.
  • If you were approved for SSDI during 2020, your first payment used the 2020 federal benefit rate, not a future year's rate.

How the federal benefit rate works

The federal benefit rate is a dollar amount set by Congress and adjusted by the Social Security Administration each year. In 2020, this rate remained unchanged from 2019. Your actual SSDI payment is calculated by taking your primary insurance amount (PIA) — which is based on your work history and earnings record — and comparing it to the federal benefit rate. You receive whichever is lower.

Most SSDI recipients receive a payment based on their PIA, not the federal benefit rate itself. This means that even if the federal benefit rate had increased in 2020, many recipients would not have seen a change in their own payment unless their PIA also changed. The federal benefit rate acts as a ceiling; it does not directly set what you receive.

Cost-of-living adjustments and when they happen

The Social Security Administration calculates a cost-of-living adjustment each year by comparing the average Consumer Price Index for the third quarter of the current year to the third quarter of the previous year. If there is an increase, that percentage becomes the COLA for the following year, effective in January.

In 2020, the third-quarter Consumer Price Index was slightly higher than in 2019, which is why the 1.3 percent COLA was announced in October 2020 and applied starting January 2021. If the index had been lower or flat, there would have been no COLA that year, and payments would have remained the same.

The COLA applies to all SSDI recipients on the rolls as of December of the prior year. If you were approved for SSDI in January 2021 or later, your initial payment would not include the 1.3 percent adjustment; instead, it would be calculated using the 2021 federal benefit rate.

What to expect if you were approved during 2020

If the Social Security Administration approved your SSDI claim at any point during 2020, your first payment was calculated using the 2020 federal benefit rate. You would not have received a retroactive adjustment when the 1.3 percent COLA took effect in January 2021, because you were not yet on the rolls in December 2020.

However, beginning in January 2021, your ongoing payments would have included the 1.3 percent adjustment going forward, just like all other recipients. The COLA applies to new recipients starting with their first payment in the year the adjustment takes effect, if they were approved before December of the prior year.

How to find your specific payment amount

Your SSDI payment amount appears on your Social Security Statement, which you can view online through your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. Log in with your username and password, or create an account if you do not have one. The statement shows your current monthly payment and a record of any adjustments applied.

You can also call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to ask about your specific payment. Have your Social Security number ready. The representative can tell you what your payment was in 2020 and what it became in January 2021 after the COLA was applied.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did my SSDI payment go up in 2020?

No, not during 2020 itself. Payments remained the same from January through November 2020. If you were receiving SSDI, you saw the same amount each month. In January 2021, a 1.3 percent increase took effect, so your payment went up then.

Why didn't SSDI payments increase in 2020?

The cost-of-living adjustment is based on inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index. The inflation rate from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020 was not high enough to trigger an increase, so there was no COLA for 2020.

If I was approved for SSDI in June 2020, did I get the 1.3 percent increase in January 2021?

Your initial payment in June 2020 used the 2020 federal benefit rate. You did not receive a retroactive adjustment in January 2021. However, your ongoing payments from January 2021 forward included the 1.3 percent COLA, the same as all other recipients.

How do I know what my SSDI payment was in 2020 versus 2021?

Log into your my Social Security account at ssa.gov and view your Social Security Statement, which shows your current payment and payment history. You can also call 1-800-772-1213 and ask a representative to compare your 2020 and 2021 payment amounts.