No, your benefit amount does not stay the same.
Generally, your benefit amount will increase yearly to protect you against inflation. Increases in the consumer price index result in cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). For example, because there was an increase in the consumer price index from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012, you will get a COLA of 1.7 percent in 2013.
There is a chance that your monthly benefit will seem to decrease. This happens when health care costs rise faster than the COLA. A rise in Medicare premiums can offset any COLA increase. So, while your benefits don't decrease, your monthly take-home amount may.
There are other circumstances when your benefit might increase. This might happen if you work and continue to pay Social Security taxes while you receive benefits. If your earnings for the year are higher than those we used to compute your benefit originally, Social Security will substitute the new year of earnings. The higher your earnings, the more your refigured benefit might be.
If your earnings are high enough for us to deduct excess earnings from your benefits, we will recompute your benefits when you reach full retirement age. This increases your benefit because we leave out the months when we reduced or withheld your benefits due to excess earnings.
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