Thanks to cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase in 2014. COLA is engaged when inflation rises, to help cover the rise in the cost-of-living. Beginning in January, benefits will rise just over 1.5% over last year’s benefits.

According to an article in DisabilityScoop.com, an online magazine dedicated to developmental disability news,  a person who receives SSI benefits will see their monthly allowance rise from $710 to $721. For a couple, those benefits will increase from $1,066 to $1,082 per month. A number of states often add to SSI benefits, which could mean that those totals may actually increase even further.

The DirectCourse/College of Direct Support curriculum trains direct support professionals (DSP) who support people with disabilities, many, if not most of whom, use Social Security or SSI benefits to make ends meet. Courses such as Civil Rights and Advocacy and Individual Rights and Choice will train the DSP to help the person they support in maneuvering changes in SSI, paperwork, and other challenges people face when trying to claim their benefits.

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To read the article in DisabilityScoop, please visit: www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/10/30/social-security-rise-2014/18851/