In Detroit, This Is The Average Social Security Payout
(the Patch) Retirees on Social Security are enjoying a big raise this year, thanks to a very sweet COLA. In January, recipients got their largest "cost of living adjustment" since 2012: To keep up with inflation, benefits were boosted 2.8%.
A retired worker's monthly payment went from $1,422 to $1,461. That works out to $468 extra over the course of the year.
Enjoy it while you can, seniors, because the advocacy group the Senior Citizens League is forecasting just a 1.8% increase for 2020, due to falling prices for gasoline and other thing.
"That's too low for meeting rising health care and prescription drug costs," Mary Johnson, the league's Social Security policy analyst, tells MoneyWise.com.
Read on to find out the size of the typical Social Security check in Detroit. And, pick up some great tips for people of all ages on how to make sure you get the biggest benefit possible.
What Social Security recipients get in Detroit
The Social Security Administration's most current data for Detroit is from 2017, when the average retiree nationwide was getting $1,360 a month from the program, or just $16,320 a year.
It was a decent year for seniors in Detroit, whose benefits were better than average.
The government says 85,680 retired people in Detroit were on Social Security during 2017, and they were typically receiving $1,398 a month from the program, or $16,782 annually.
In Michigan, 1,461,455 retirees were collecting benefits in 2017 that averaged $1,494 per month or $17,926 a year.
Nope, it's really not much
No matter how your local or state benefits compare to the national numbers, it's just not a lot of money. Consider this: The federal government's official definition of poverty in 2017 was a person earning $12,060 a year.
No one should ever expect to live off Social Security in retirement — so don't even think of that. Just don't.
During your working years it's vital that you save and invest, maybe in an employer-based 401(k), an IRA, or through an automated investment service like Wealthsimple that automatically adjusts your portfolio to help you weather the occasional storm fronts on the financial markets.
Get the free MoneyWise retirement eBook and start planning your perfect retirement today.
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