No Social Security Benefit Increase for 2016

The Social Security Administration has announced that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will remain the same in 2016.
The Social Security Act provides for an automatic increase in Social Security and SSI benefits if there is an increase in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). As determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015. Therefore, under existing law, there can be no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2016.
Other adjustments that would normally take effect based on changes in the national average wage index also will not take effect in January 2016. Since there is no COLA, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax remains at $118,500 for 2016.
A fact sheet is available with more information on 2016 Social Security and SSI rates. Additional information regarding how the COLA is calculated is also available.