--- title: Social Security Calls Spike After Rumor of Extra Benefits Goes Viral description: After a false rumor describing a $600 increase in Social Security benefits spread online recently, the SSA was "slammed" with phone calls. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 601 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-06-13T18:24:53.000Z' modified: '2024-06-13T18:24:53.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 380 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-cola-rumor-fake/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Hands passing faded money with a social security check in the background.](https://img.money.com/2024/06/News-Social-Security-Extra-600.jpg) After a false rumor describing a $600 increase in [Social Security benefits](https://money.com/social-security-check-this-month/) spread online recently, government workers were “slammed” with questions from beneficiaries trying to figure out what was happening. The Social Security Administration, the federal agency that administers benefits, said it received an influx of 140,000 additional phone calls on June 3 — the day when the confusion peaked. The misinformation stems from a “bogus news story about a $600 payment increase,” Martin O’Malley, Social Security commissioner, wrote in a [tweet](https://x.com/OMalleySSA/status/1800900169057058934) on Wednesday. The rumor incorrectly suggested that some people receiving Social Security benefits would get larger checks starting in June due to a cost-of-living adjustment tied to the inflation rate. “This is FALSE,” O'Malley said. “No COLA until January 2025. Big thanks to all SSA staff who helped customers with this rumor.” ## Select your state to get started with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you're 62 or older\*, a Reverse Mortgage from Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) could help you build a more financially secure retirement. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/fb272d48a2bd?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-cola-rumor-fake%2F) \*62 is the minimum age for HECM's. Certain proprietary reverse mortgages may have a lower minimum. ## The truth behind the Social Security rumor Misleading and inaccurate articles mentioning a $600 Social Security increase have been circulating on social media for at least three weeks. In online forums, many beneficiaries have also reported seeing the rumor in internet searches. Some of the posts falsely stated that President Joe Biden had enacted the increase before the November presidential election to boost his chances of winning. In reality, there won’t be an increase in Social Security benefits until next year, and we won’t know what that cost-of-living adjustment will be until the fall due to the way it's calculated. The [latest estimates](https://seniorsleague.org/assets/Press-Brief-061224.pdf) indicate recipients could get a 2.57% raise next year, according to the Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group for older adults. For 2024, the COLA was 3.2%, which increased the average retiree benefit by $59 a month. Fake news about Social Security isn't uncommon — because it's relied upon by about 68 million Americans including older adults and people with disabilities, misinformation can spread quickly. But the Social Security Administration [cautions](https://www.ssa.gov/cola/) people to “avoid falling victim to fraudulent calls and internet 'phishing' schemes by not revealing personal information, selecting malicious links, or opening malicious attachments." When the 2025 COLA *is* officially revealed in October, it'll be posted at [SSA.gov](https://www.ssa.gov/). ## Is a Reverse Mortgage right for you? ### With Finance of America (NMLS #2285), you could get the most out of your Reverse Mortgage loan. Click below and start planning your future today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/o114419d32f6?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-cola-rumor-fake%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39553/medium_d01d803f-1110-4310-8997-bada342c27e4.webp) Get the most out of your Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America (NMLS #2285) [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/v5cb776331b0?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-cola-rumor-fake%2F) f ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-rumor-fake/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social Security Calls Spike After Rumor of Extra Benefits Goes Viral" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-rumor-fake/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-rumor-fake/", "name": "Social Security Calls Spike After Rumor of Extra Benefits Goes Viral", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-06-13T18:24:53.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-rumor-fake/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-rumor-fake/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-06-13T18:24:53.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Social Security Calls Spike After Rumor of Extra Benefits Goes Viral", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/06/News-Social-Security-Extra-600.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Social-Security-Extra-600" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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