SUMMARY: We have determined—
(1) A 5.8 percent cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (the Act), effective for December 2008;
(2) An increase in the Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) monthly benefit amounts under title XVI of the Act for 2009 to $674 for an eligible individual, $1,011 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $338 for an essential person;
(3) The student earned income exclusion to be $1,640 per month in 2009 but not more than $6,600 in all of 2009;
(4) The dollar fee limit for services performed as a representative payee to be $37 per month ($72 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 2009;
(5) The dollar limit on the administrative-cost assessment charged to attorneys representing claimants to be $83 in 2009;
(6) The national average wage index for 2007 to be $40,405.48;
(7) The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) contribution and benefit base to be $106,800 for remuneration paid in 2009 and self-employment income earned in taxable years beginning in 2009;
(8) The monthly exempt amounts under the Social Security retirement earnings test for taxable years ending in calendar year 2009 to be $1,180 and $3,140;
(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 2009 to be $744 and $4,483;
(10) The 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 2009 to be $950, $1,372, and $1,789;
(11) The amount of taxable earnings a person must have to be credited with a quarter of coverage in 2009 to be $1,090;
(12) The ‘‘old-law’’ contribution and benefit base to be $79,200 for 2009;
(13) The monthly amount deemed to constitute substantial gainful activity for statutorily blind individuals in 2009 to be $1,640, and the corresponding amount for non-blind disabled persons to be $980;
(14) The earnings threshold establishing a month as a part of a trial work period to be $700 for 2009; and
(15) Coverage thresholds for 2009 to be $1,700 for domestic workers and $1,500 for election workers.
