SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO INCREASE IN 2022

About 23,000 people of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds in U.S. Virgin Islands (and 850,000 in Puerto Rico) qualify for a 5.9 percent increase in their Social Security benefits in 2022. Federal benefit rates increase when the cost-of-living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI-W).

The CPI-W rises when inflation increases, leading to a higher cost-of-living. This change means prices for goods and services, on average, are a little more expensive, so the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) helps to offset these costs.

We will mail COLA notices throughout the month of December to retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries, in addition to their representative payees (if any). But, if you want to

know your new benefit amount sooner, you can securely obtain your Social Security COLA notice online using the Message Center in your my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. You can access this information in early December prior to the mailed notice.