Social Security Benefits for 2015

The nation's elderly and disabled Social Security recipients will receive a 1.7 percent increase in payments in 2015. This increase will raise the average monthly payment for the typical retired worker by $22. The increase is slightly higher than last year’s 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The same COLA will apply to pensions for federal government retirees and to most veterans.

The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will remain $104.90 in 2015, the same as it was in 2014.  Most Medicare recipients have their premiums deducted from their Social Security payments.   

The COLA by the Numbers

Starting in January 2015, the average monthly Social Security retirement payment will rise from $1,306 to $1,328 a month for individuals and from $2,140 to $2,176 for couples. The 1.7 percent increase will apply to both elderly and disabled Social Security recipients, and individuals who receive both disability and retirement Social Security will see increases in both types of benefits.  The maximum Social Security benefit for a worker retiring at full retirement age, which is age 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, will be $2,663 a month.

The Social Security COLA also raises the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security taxation to $118,500 from $117,000.  This means that those earning incomes above $118,500 will pay no tax on any income above that threshold.

The COLA increases the amount early retirees can earn without seeing a cut in their Social Security checks.  Although there is no limit on outside earnings beginning the month an individual attains full retirement age, those who choose to begin receiving Social Security benefits before their full retirement age may have their benefits reduced, depending on how much other income they earn.

Early beneficiaries who will reach their full retirement age after 2015 may now earn $15,720 a year before Social Security payments are reduced by $1 for every $2 earned above the limit. Those early beneficiaries who will attain their full retirement age in 2015 will have their benefits reduced $1 for every $3 earned if their income exceeds $41,880 in the months prior to the month they reach their full retirement age.

For 2015, the monthly federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment standard will be $733 for an individual and $1,100 for a couple.

For a complete list of the 2015 Social Security changes, go to: http://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/colafacts2015.html 

About the Author

In his 30 years in practice, Joe has become a leader in the trust and estate and elder law field. He is a Fellow in the Amercian College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He serves on the Executive Committees of the Estates & Probate Section and the Elder Law Section of Connecticut Bar Association (CBA). He has served as chair of the continuing legal education committee of CT-NAELA and the CBA Elder Law Section. Joe has led many seminars for CT-NAELA and the Elder Law Section on topics as diverse as evidence in conservatorship proceedings, special needs planning in the family law setting, veterans’ benefits, and home health care strategies.