Individuals with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income and other Social Security benefits are seeing the largest rise in their monthly payments in decades.

With the new year, benefits are up 8.7%, according to the Social Security Administration. That’s the biggest increase since 1981.

As a result, the maximum federal SSI benefit for this year is $914 per month for individuals and $1,371 for couples, the agency said, though payments can be higher since some states kick in extra.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The larger payments were set to start going out to SSI beneficiaries Dec. 30 and will be effective for Social Security recipients with their January payment.

The jump comes as a result of an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, known as COLA, which is triggered by inflation and is based on the Consumer Price Index from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Social Security Administration was expected to issue notices in December detailing how much people will receive each month going forward. The information is also available for most beneficiaries in their online Social Security accounts.

Read more stories like this one. Sign up for Disability Scoop's free email newsletter to get the latest developmental disability news sent straight to your inbox.