I won't keep you in suspense: Social Security checks will be 2.8% bigger in 2019. That's great news for retirees, but there are some important things every Social Security recipient needs to consider about the increase. These include the fact that some retirees might not see the full amount of the increase reflected in their checks, and the cause of the increase could indicate that retirees don't make any real progress toward financial security in spite of the bump-up in income. Every year, Social Security's number-crunchers evaluate the annual change in prices for a variety of goods and services using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).