The 2019 COLA increased SSDI payments by 2.8 percent

In December 2018, the Social Security Administration announced that the 2019 cost of living adjustment (COLA) would be 2.8 percent. This meant that starting in January 2019, the monthly payment amount for every person receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) went up by that percentage. The increase was based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which measures inflation across the economy.

The 2.8 percent figure was higher than the 2018 COLA, which had been 2.0 percent. It was also higher than the 2017 COLA of 0.3 percent, which had been the smallest increase in years. The 2019 increase reflected rising costs for food, housing, medical care, and other expenses that disabled workers and retirees depend on.

If you received SSDI in 2019, your new payment amount was calculated automatically. You did not need to do anything to receive the increase—it appeared in your January 2019 payment. The Social Security Administration sent notices to all beneficiaries in December 2018 showing the new amount.

Key Takeaways

  • The 2019 COLA was 2.8 percent, meaning SSDI payments increased by that amount starting in January 2019.
  • The increase was based on inflation data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and applied automatically to all SSDI beneficiaries.
  • You did not need to take any action to receive the 2019 COLA—the higher payment amount appeared in your January check or direct deposit.
  • The 2019 COLA was larger than the increases in 2017 and 2018, reflecting higher inflation in the economy that year.

How the 2019 COLA was calculated

The Social Security Administration calculates the annual COLA by comparing the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of one year to the third quarter of the previous year. For the 2019 COLA, the agency compared the CPI-W from July, August, and September 2018 to the same months in 2017.

The CPI-W is published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. It tracks the average change in prices that urban wage earners and clerical workers pay for goods and services, including food, housing, transportation, medical care, and clothing. When prices rise faster than they did in the previous year, the COLA increases. When prices rise more slowly, the COLA is smaller.

The announcement of the 2019 COLA happened in October 2018, two months before the increase took effect. This timing gave beneficiaries and the Social Security Administration time to prepare. The agency updated its payment systems, printed and mailed notices, and answered questions from people who wanted to know how much their new payment would be.

What the 2019 COLA meant for your monthly payment

The exact dollar amount of your increase depended on your current SSDI payment. Someone receiving $1,000 per month would have seen an increase of $28 per month (2.8 percent of $1,000). Someone receiving $1,500 per month would have received an additional $42 per month. The increase was proportional—the higher your payment, the larger the dollar increase.

The 2019 COLA also affected the federal benefit rate (FBR), which is the base payment amount for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a separate program from SSDI, but both programs received the same 2.8 percent increase. The FBR for an individual in 2019 became $771 per month, up from $750 in 2018.

If you were receiving both SSDI and SSI, or if you were receiving SSDI and your spouse or child was receiving benefits on your record, all of those payments increased by 2.8 percent in January 2019. Family members' payments were adjusted using the same percentage as your own.

Why COLA matters for people on SSDI

The COLA exists because the cost of living—what you actually pay for rent, food, medicine, and other necessities—changes from year to year. Without the COLA, a fixed payment amount would buy less and less as prices rise. Over time, a payment that was adequate in one year might not cover basic expenses in the next.

For people on SSDI, the COLA is often the only increase in income they receive. Unlike workers who may get raises or bonuses, disabled beneficiaries depend on the annual adjustment to keep their purchasing power steady. A 2.8 percent increase in 2019 meant that beneficiaries could maintain roughly the same standard of living they had in 2018, assuming prices rose at the same rate the CPI-W measured.

However, the COLA is based on inflation for the general population, not specifically for disabled people or retirees. Some expenses that matter most to SSDI beneficiaries—such as prescription medications or medical equipment—may rise faster than the overall inflation rate. This means the COLA sometimes does not fully keep up with the actual cost increases that disabled people face.

The 2019 COLA compared to other years

The 2019 COLA of 2.8 percent was the largest increase since 2012, when the COLA was 3.6 percent. In the years when ready before 2019, increases had been much smaller. The 2018 COLA was 2.0 percent, the 2017 COLA was 0.3 percent, and the 2016 COLA was 0.0 percent—meaning no increase at all.

The variation in COLA amounts reflects changes in inflation. From 2016 to 2017, inflation was very low, which is why the COLA was nearly zero. By 2018 and 2019, inflation had picked up, resulting in larger adjustments. The COLA can never be negative—if inflation is negative (deflation), the COLA stays at zero and payments do not decrease.

The 2019 COLA was announced in October 2018 based on inflation data through September 2018. By the time beneficiaries received their January 2019 payments, the actual inflation that occurred in late 2018 and early 2019 might have been different. However, the COLA is always based on the data available at the time of the announcement, not on what inflation turns out to be later.

How to find out what your 2019 payment was

If you were receiving SSDI in January 2019, you should have received a notice from the Social Security Administration in December 2018 showing your new payment amount. This notice, called the "Notice of Medicare Premium Deduction" or a similar title depending on your situation, listed your old monthly payment and your new monthly payment after the 2.8 percent increase.

You can also view your payment history and current payment amount by creating an account on ssa.gov and logging into your "my Social Security" account. This online portal shows your payment amount, your payment history, and other information about your SSDI record. If you do not have an online account, you can create one for free at ssa.gov.

If you did not receive a notice in December 2018 and you were receiving SSDI in 2019, you can contact the Social Security Administration by phone at 1-800-772-1213 to ask about your payment amount. You can also visit a local Social Security office in person. Having your Social Security number ready will help speed up the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did everyone receiving SSDI get the same 2.8 percent increase in 2019?

Yes, all SSDI beneficiaries received the same 2.8 percent increase in January 2019, regardless of how much they were receiving or how long they had been on SSDI. The COLA is applied uniformly across the entire program. However, the dollar amount of the increase varied depending on each person's payment amount.

What if I was not receiving SSDI for the full year in 2019?

If you started receiving SSDI in 2019, your initial payment amount was based on the 2019 payment formula, which already included the 2.8 percent COLA. You did not receive a separate increase. If you stopped receiving SSDI before January 2019, you would not have received the 2019 COLA.

Does the 2019 COLA affect the earnings limit for SSDI?

Yes, the COLA affects the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit, which is the amount of money you can earn while still receiving SSDI. In 2019, the SGA limit was $1,220 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,040 for blind individuals. These amounts are adjusted each year based on the COLA.

Can I see how the COLA was calculated?

The Social Security Administration publishes detailed information about how the COLA is calculated on its website at ssa.gov. You can find the CPI-W data used for the 2019 COLA calculation, the announcement from October 2018, and historical COLA information going back decades.