| Introduction |
Several important parameters affect Social Security's Old-Age,
Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. We determine these parameters each October by
following formulas set by law. The two most important parameters are the national average
wage index and the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
These parameters and others are described below.
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| Summary |
A table
summarizes COLAs and
wage-indexed amounts for recent years.
The table's column headings provide links to more detailed data. |
| Average Wage Index |
We use the national average wage index to "index"
earnings for initial benefit computations and to determine several
wage-indexed amounts that primarily
affect the OASDI program. |
| COLA
(Cost-Of-Living Adjustment) |
Annual increases in payments from OASDI
and SSI programs |
| OASDI benefits |
Description of how benefits are computed, with emphasis
on the role of automatic increases.
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Retirement benefit examples
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Examples for people with earnings of at least
the maximum-taxable level since age 22.
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| SSI payments |
Maximum Federal Supplementary Security Income (SSI)
amounts are based on COLAs. |
Taxable maximum
(Contribution and benefit base) |
The taxable maximum for a year is the maximum earnings
subject to the Social Security tax.
See tax rates
for Social Security (OASDI) and for Medicare's Hospital Insurance program.
Because taxes represent contributions to the Social Security program, and
because the taxable maximum is also the maximum amount of earnings used to compute benefits,
the taxable maximum is formally called the "contribution and benefit base." |
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www.socialsecurity.gov
