Social Security Benefits Increased

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase by 3.5% this year. These benefits go up automatically based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from the third quarter of one year to the corresponding period in the next. For Social Security recipients the new amounts begin in January 2001, and the average monthly benefit rises to $845 from $816. Increased monthly payments to SSI recipients began on December 29, 2000. The amount rose to $530 from $512 for individuals and to $796 from $769 for couples.