Do COLA increases affect my future SS retirement benefits while collecting survivor benefits?

Yes, COLAs do get applied to your future retirement benefits even while you're collecting survivor benefits. The way it works is that your earnings record and benefit calculation (your PIA - Primary Insurance Amount) gets adjusted annually with COLAs, even though you're not yet collecting on your own record. So when you switch to your own benefits at 70, you'll get all those accumulated COLAs plus the delayed retirement credits for waiting until 70. This is one of the most misunderstood parts of SS benefits coordination. Your future benefit estimates aren't just frozen in time on that statement you got years ago.

i had the same problem with my account!! my husband died 3 yrs ago and when i started survivors i couldnt see my own benfits anymore either. so frustrating!

The other commenter is correct, but I want to add a bit more detail. COLAs affect your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the base calculation for all your benefits. This happens automatically in the SSA's systems even if you can't see it in your online account. For example, if your PIA was $2,000 when you were 60, and there's a total of 15% in COLAs over the next 10 years, your PIA at 70 would be $2,300 before adding the delayed retirement credits. Then the delayed credits (8% per year from FRA to 70) get applied on top of that COLA-adjusted amount. You can call SSA and request a PEBES (Social Security Statement) that will show your updated projections.

When my sister got widowed she had the same issue with her SS account. SS system is really bad at showing multiple benefit types at once!

I went through EXACTLY your situation last year. Tried calling SSA for THREE WEEKS straight and kept getting disconnected or told 4+ hour wait times. FINALLY I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual SSA agent in less than 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that yes, COLAs apply to your future benefits even while collecting survivors. I was skeptical but checked out their video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and it worked exactly as shown. Their website is claimyr.com - it saved me weeks of frustration trying to get a simple answer from SSA.

Just to add a bit of confusion to the mix - COLAs are only part of what might change your future benefit. Your benefit at 70 might also be different than projected if you're still working and paying into Social Security. Any earnings now could potentially increase your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings) which is what your PIA is based on.

One more important thing to understand: when you switch from survivor benefits to your own retirement at 70, make sure to contact SSA a few months before your 70th birthday. The switch isn't automatic - you need to apply for your retirement benefits. Many people miss out on higher benefits because they assume SSA automatically gives them the highest benefit they're eligible for.

NOBODY at SSA ever explains these things clearly!!! I spent 6 hours on the phone with them last month trying to understand something similar and got 3 different answers from 3 different people! The whole system is BROKEN when it comes to explaining benefits to us. We worked our whole lives and can't even get straight answers about our own money!!!

To directly answer your question: The paper statement you received years ago showed estimates based on your earnings at that time, with assumptions about future earnings until retirement age. Those estimates didn't include future COLAs because those are unknown at statement time. However, since COLAs have been quite substantial recently (8.7% in 2023, 3.2% in 2024), your actual benefit at 70 will likely be significantly higher than what that old statement showed - potentially 15-20% higher just from COLAs alone, not counting any additional earnings or delayed retirement credits.

I'm in a similar situation but just turned 62 and wondering if I should start my survivor benefits now or wait. Reading through all these responses about COLAs applying to future benefits is really helpful! One thing I'm still confused about though - if I start survivor benefits at 62, will those also get the annual COLAs? And then when I switch to my own retirement at 70, will I get the benefit of all those COLAs that were applied to my own record during those 8 years? It sounds like from what everyone is saying that the answer is yes to both, but I want to make sure I understand this correctly before making the decision.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm 58 and my husband passed away 6 months ago. I haven't applied for survivor benefits yet because I'm still working full-time and wasn't sure if it made sense to start them now or wait. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful, especially understanding that COLAs apply to both current survivor benefits AND my future retirement benefits even while I'm not collecting on my own record yet. One question - does anyone know if there's an earnings limit that affects survivor benefits? I'm making about $65k per year and worried that might reduce any survivor benefits I'd be eligible for. Also, is it true that survivor benefits aren't reduced for early claiming the same way regular retirement benefits are? I've read conflicting information about this online. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's so much more helpful than trying to navigate the SSA website or sitting on hold for hours!