Social Security Administration October 25, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commissioner has determined (1) A 2.3 percent cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (the Act), effective for December 2007; (2) An increase in the Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly benefit amounts under title XVI of the Act for 2008 to $637 for an eligible individual, $956 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $319 for an essential person; (3) The student earned income exclusion to be $1,550 per month in 2008 but not more than $6,240 in all of 2008; (4) The dollar fee limit for services performed as a representative payee to be $35 per month ($68 per month in the case of a beneficiary who is disabled and has an alcoholism or drug addiction condition that leaves him or her incapable of managing benefits) in 2008; (5) The dollar limit on the administrative-cost assessment charged to attorneys representing claimants to be $79 in 2008; (6) The national average wage index for 2006 to be $38,651.41; (7) The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) contribution and benefit base to be $102,000 for remuneration paid in 2008 and self-employment income earned in taxable years beginning in 2008; (8) The monthly exempt amounts under the Social Security retirement earnings test for taxable years ending in calendar year 2008 to be $1,130 and $3,010; (9) The dollar amounts (``bend points'') used in the primary insurance amount benefit formula for workers who become eligible for benefits, or who die before becoming eligible, in 2008 to be $711 and $4,288; (10) The dollar amounts (``bend points'') used in the formula for computing maximum family benefits for workers who become eligible for benefits, or who die before becoming eligible, in 2008 to be $909, $1,312, and $1,711; (11) The amount of taxable earnings a person must have to be credited with a quarter of coverage in 2008 to be $1,050; (12) The ``old-law'' contribution and benefit base to be $75,900 for 2008; (13) The monthly amount deemed to constitute substantial gainful activity for statutorily blind individuals in 2008 to be $1,570, and the corresponding amount for non-blind disabled persons to be $940; (14) The earnings threshold establishing a month as a part of a trial work period to be $670 for 2008; and (15) Coverage thresholds for 2008 to be $1,600 for domestic workers and $1,400 for election workers.