The 2019 SSDI COLA was 2.8 percent

Social Security increased all SSDI payments by 2.8 percent starting in January 2019. This was the annual Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, meant to keep benefits in line with inflation. The increase applied to everyone receiving SSDI that month — no action was required on your part.

The 2.8 percent figure came from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), measured from the third quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2018. Social Security calculates the COLA this way every year, using the same index and the same three-month window.

If you were receiving SSDI in December 2018, your January 2019 payment reflected the increase. If you started SSDI after January 2019, your first payment already included the higher amount — there was no catch-up payment for the months you were not yet receiving benefits.

Key Takeaways

  • The 2019 COLA of 2.8 percent was the largest increase since 2012, when beneficiaries received a 3.6 percent raise.
  • Your January 2019 payment was automatically 2.8 percent higher than your December 2018 payment if you were receiving SSDI.
  • The COLA is based on inflation data from a specific three-month period each year and is the same for all SSDI recipients — it does not vary by age, location, or benefit amount.
  • If you started SSDI after January 2019, you did not receive a separate payment for the months before you began — your first check reflected the new rate.

What the 2.8 percent increase meant in dollars

The dollar amount of the increase depended on your individual benefit payment. Someone receiving $1,000 per month in December 2018 would receive $1,028 in January 2019. Someone receiving $1,500 would receive $1,542. The percentage was the same for everyone, but the actual dollar increase varied by person.

Social Security does not publish a single "average" SSDI payment for 2019, because the average changes as people start and stop receiving benefits. However, you could calculate your own increase by taking your December 2018 payment, multiplying it by 0.028, and adding the result to that payment.

If you did not see a 2.8 percent increase in your January 2019 payment, the reason was usually one of these: you had not yet started SSDI (so there was no prior payment to increase), you were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) instead of SSDI (SSI has different rules), or your benefit amount changed for another reason that month, such as a work-related reduction or a change in your family composition.

How the COLA is calculated each year

Social Security uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers to measure inflation. This index tracks the cost of goods and services that working people buy — food, housing, transportation, medical care, and so on. The agency compares the index from July, August, and September of one year to the same three months of the previous year.

For the 2019 COLA, Social Security compared the third quarter of 2018 to the third quarter of 2017. The index rose 2.8 percent over that period, so the COLA was 2.8 percent. If inflation had been lower, the COLA would have been lower. If inflation had been higher, the COLA would have been higher.

Congress does not vote on the COLA each year. The law requires Social Security to calculate it automatically using this formula. The only exception is if inflation is negative — in that case, the COLA is zero, and no one's benefit goes down. This happened in 2009 and 2010, when prices fell during the recession.

Why 2019 was a larger increase than some other years

The 2019 COLA of 2.8 percent was notably higher than the COLAs of 2017 (0.3 percent) and 2018 (2.0 percent). It reflected faster inflation in 2018 than in the two years before it. Prices for energy, food, and medical care all rose more sharply in that period.

However, 2.8 percent was still lower than the COLA of 2012 (3.6 percent) or 2008 (5.8 percent), when inflation was higher. The COLA moves with the economy — there is no target rate, no minimum, and no maximum. It is whatever the Consumer Price Index shows.

Beneficiaries who had received SSDI for many years saw the cumulative effect of multiple COLAs. Someone who started SSDI in 2000 and received benefits continuously through 2019 had seen their payment increase by roughly 60 percent over that time, though the actual figure depended on which years they received benefits and what their starting amount was.

When you would have received notice of the 2019 increase

Social Security mailed a notice called the "Social Security Benefit Statement" to all SSDI beneficiaries in early December 2018. This notice showed your new benefit amount starting in January 2019 and explained that the increase was due to the COLA. You did not need to do anything with this notice — it was informational only.

If you did not receive a notice, or if you lost it, you could have called Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to ask what your new payment amount would be. You could also have created a my Social Security account online at ssa.gov to view your benefit information.

The notice arrived before the increase took effect so you would have time to adjust your budget or update any records that listed your benefit amount. Some people use their SSDI payment to calculate other things — rent information, food stamps, or Medicaid may be able to access — so knowing the new amount in advance was useful.

How the COLA affects other benefits and programs

The 2019 COLA applied to SSDI only. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a separate program for people with low income and few resources, uses the same COLA percentage, but SSI has a different maximum payment amount and different rules about how much you can earn before your benefit is reduced.

Some state and local programs that use SSDI as a reference point — such as housing vouchers or food stamp calculations — may have adjusted their limits based on the 2019 COLA. However, this varied by program and by state. A 2.8 percent increase to your SSDI payment did not automatically mean a 2.8 percent increase to other benefits you received.

If you were receiving both SSDI and SSI, your SSDI payment increased by 2.8 percent, but your SSI payment followed different rules. If you were receiving SSDI and had a family member also receiving SSDI on your record, both payments increased by the same percentage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did I have to do anything to get the 2019 COLA increase?

No. The increase was automatic. If you were receiving SSDI in January 2019, your payment went up by 2.8 percent without any action on your part. You did not need to contact Social Security, fill out a form, or report anything.

What if I started SSDI in February 2019 or later?

Your first payment already reflected the 2019 COLA. You did not receive a separate payment for January or for any month before you began receiving benefits. Your benefit amount was calculated using the post-COLA rate.

Can I find out what my SSDI payment would have been without the COLA?

Yes. Take your January 2019 payment and divide it by 1.028. That gives you your December 2018 amount. The difference between the two is your COLA increase in dollars. Social Security can also provide this information if you call 1-800-772-1213.

Does the COLA change my Medicare premiums?

The COLA itself does not directly change Medicare premiums. However, if your SSDI payment increased, and that payment is your only income, you may have become ineligible for certain low-income programs. Check with your state Medicaid office or local benefits counselor if you think the increase affected your coverage.

Will the 2020 COLA be higher or lower than 2019?

The 2020 COLA depends on inflation in 2019, which is measured after 2019 ends. Social Security announces the next year's COLA in October of the current year. You cannot know the 2020 COLA until October 2019.