Social Security Announces 3.3 Percent Benefit Increase for 2007

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Social Security Announces 3.3 Percent Benefit Increase for 2007

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/2007cola-pr.htm

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits

for more than 53 million Americans will increase 3.3 percent in

2007, the Social Security Administration announced today.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase

automatically each year based on the rise in the Bureau of Labor

Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical

Workers (CPI-W), from the third quarter of the prior year to the

corresponding period of the current year. This year's increase in

the CPI-W was 3.3 percent.

The 3.3 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin with

benefits that nearly 49 million Social Security beneficiaries

receive in January 2007. Increased payments to more than 7 million

Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 29.

Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are

based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the

maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax

(taxable maximum) will increase to $97,500 from $94,200. Of the

estimated 163 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in

2007, about 11 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the

increase in the taxable maximum in 2007.

Information about Medicare changes for 2007 can be found at

www.cms.hhs.gov.