Social security statement?

Question

Is the dollar amount per year that you are eligible to recieve for social security on their yearly update given in todays dollars or future inflated dollars?
Example, I want to take social security in 12 years at the age of 62. Social security says I will recieve 16,000 per year. Is the 16,000 in todays dollars or do you multiply that by 3% per year for inflation for 12 years to get the amount you will recieve in 2019 dollars??

Answer 1

This is found on the frequently asked questions of the social securty website. It sounds like it is the final dollar amount you will recieve.

"Social Security benefits are based on earnings averaged over most of a worker's lifetime. Your actual earnings are first adjusted or "indexed" to account for changes in average wages since the year the earnings were received. Then we calculate your average monthly indexed earnings during the 35 years in which you earned the most. We apply a formula to these earnings and arrive at your basic benefit, or "primary insurance amount" (PIA). This is the amount you would receive at your full retirement age, for most people, age 65. However, beginning with people born in 1938 or later, that age will gradually increase until it reaches 67 for people born after 1959. "

Answer 2

The amount of cost of living increase each is determined sometime in December, Social Security Retirement increases have been as low as 1/2 % and as high as 4%. The dollar amount on your statement is in todays dollars.
No one can project what the final payment will be, because you may stop working next month(affecting the last 12 years of contribution), Congress may change the law, the fund may become broke, and etc.
Beware that if you have not worked in the last ten years when you apply it will affect your benefits.

Answer 3

With the calculators on their website, you can chose to have it shown either in todays dollars or in inflated dollars.

If you are looking at a paper statement, read it carefully, it will say which it is.