How Much of a Raise Will SSDI Get in 2023?

For the millions of Americans receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the annual cost-of-living adjustment — known as the COLA — is one of the most important numbers to watch. In 2023, that number was historically significant.

The 2023 SSDI COLA: 8.7%

The Social Security Administration announced an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023, the largest COLA in over four decades. This increase took effect with payments issued in January 2023.

To put that in context: the 2022 COLA was 5.9%, which itself was considered large at the time. The 2023 adjustment reflected elevated inflation measured through the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) during the third quarter of 2022.

COLAs are not a policy decision or a gift from Congress — they're a mechanical calculation tied directly to inflation data. If prices rise significantly, the COLA rises. If inflation is low, the COLA is small (or in rare cases, zero, as happened in 2010, 2011, and 2016).

What Does 8.7% Mean in Actual Dollars?

The COLA is applied as a percentage increase to whatever benefit amount you were already receiving. Because SSDI payments vary significantly from person to person, the dollar impact of the same 8.7% will look different depending on where you start.

Here's how that math plays out across a range of monthly benefit amounts:

These are illustrative figures. Your actual increase depends entirely on your own base benefit amount, which is calculated from your lifetime earnings record.

How SSDI Benefit Amounts Are Set in the First Place

Understanding the 2023 raise requires understanding where your base benefit comes from. SSDI is not a flat payment — it's calculated using your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), which reflects your taxed wages over your working life.

The SSA then applies a formula to your AIME to produce your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — the core monthly benefit you receive. Higher lifetime earnings generally produce a higher PIA, which means a higher base amount that the COLA percentage is then applied to.

This is why two people who both receive SSDI can have very different experiences of the same 8.7% increase — one might gain $60 a month, another might gain $175.

Does the COLA Apply Automatically?

Yes. You do not need to apply for the COLA or take any action to receive it. The SSA applies the adjustment automatically to everyone receiving SSDI benefits. Recipients received official notification letters from SSA in late 2022 showing their new 2023 benefit amount.

If you were approved and began receiving SSDI before January 2023, the 8.7% increase applied to your benefit. If you were approved mid-year in 2023, your benefit was already calculated using 2023 figures.

What About the Average SSDI Benefit in 2023?

The SSA publishes average benefit figures that shift each year with new approvals and the COLA. As of early 2023, the average SSDI payment was approximately $1,483 per month for a disabled worker. This is a national average — individual payments can range from a few hundred dollars to over $3,600, depending on work history.

It's worth noting that SSDI has a maximum monthly benefit, which also adjusts with the COLA. In 2023, the maximum possible SSDI payment for a disabled worker was roughly $3,627 per month, though reaching that level requires a strong, high-earning work history.

Other Program Thresholds That Changed in 2023 📋

The 2023 COLA didn't just affect monthly checks — it also triggered adjustments to other key program numbers:

• Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA): The monthly earnings limit for non-blind SSDI recipients rose to $1,470 in 2023 (up from $1,350 in 2022). Earning above this threshold while receiving SSDI can affect your eligibility status.
• Trial Work Period (TWP) threshold: Rose to $1,050 per month in 2023. This matters for recipients testing their ability to return to work under SSDI's work incentive rules.

These thresholds adjust annually and are worth tracking if you're working or considering work while receiving benefits.

Why the 2023 COLA Was Unusually Large

The 8.7% figure stood out because it hadn't been seen since 1981. For most of the past two decades, COLAs ranged from 0% to 3%. The 2023 increase reflected post-pandemic inflation that affected housing, food, energy, and consumer goods across the board.

Whether future COLAs will be similarly large depends on future inflation data — something that can't be predicted in advance. The 2024 COLA, by comparison, came in at 3.2%, illustrating how quickly these adjustments can shift. 📉

The Part That's Personal

The 8.7% COLA applied uniformly to every SSDI recipient in 2023. But what that meant in actual dollars — and whether it meaningfully kept pace with your own cost of living — depends on your benefit amount, your expenses, your living situation, and other income sources in your household.

For someone receiving $900 a month, the raise meant roughly $78 more. For someone receiving $2,000, it meant closer to $174. Same percentage. Very different financial realities.

Your specific benefit amount is a product of your unique earnings record — a number only the SSA can calculate based on your work history. That's the piece this article can't fill in for you. 🔍