Weekend Reading: Five Ways Social Security Will be Changing in 2022

This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
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Weekend Reading

What’s next for Social Security?

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Here, you’ll find a sum-up of how your benefits could be impacted in the coming year. They include:

📌Continued erosion of the Social Security Trust Fund: If Congress takes no action, the excess revenue in the Social Security Trust Fund is set to deplete in 2033, at which point less than 80 percent of benefits would be available for pay-out

📌Full Retirement Age increase: For individuals born in 1960 or later, Social Security’s Full Retirement Age will increase to 67, with reduced benefits still available to be taken as early as age 62

📌Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA): To keep up with inflation, the largest COLA in nearly four decades will take place, with an increase of 5.9 percent

📌Maximum benefits will increase: High-income earners at the top of Social Security’s earnings scale will see a small increase in payouts, with $3,345 per month being the maximum payout

📌Increased taxes: This will depend on household income level, but for example, 85 percent of benefits will be taxed for those with an individual income level of $34,000 – Or $44,000 for a married couple

More to come: While you may see minimal changes to Social Security next year, we all know the real changes will be here before we know it.