As inflation continues to climb, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that social security recipients will see a 5.9 percent increase in their benefits, the largest such increase since 1982. The SSA has historically adjusted benefits to account for inflation, but these have often been minor, granting beneficiaries a one or two percent increase. The announced increase today goes far beyond this norm, giving another indication of continuing inflation. “The 5.9 percent cost-of-living adjustment will begin with benefits payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2022,” said the SSA in a press release. The SSA makes the judgment to increase benefits based on changes in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index, which tracks the costs of various products for average Americans. Further reflecting the bite of inflation, the SSA also announced that it would increase the maximum income taxable under social security from $142,800 …