In 2022 Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits were increased by 5.9%, this is called a cost of living adjustment (“COLA”) and is done annually. Some years the difference is very small, and some years it is larger. The purpose of the COLA is to ensure benefits and their purchasing power are not eroded by inflation, so the higher inflation is the higher the COLA will be. SSA uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was issued compared to the third quarter of the current year to determine whether or not another COLA is necessary.
The third quarter begins this month, so we cannot say for certain whether there will be a COLA for 2023, however the first five months of the year listed in the CPI-W show an increase over the previous year, so it is likely there will be a COLA for 2023.