WASHINGTON (October 16, 2012)—Monthly payments to more than 56 million Social Security recipients will increase by 1.7 percent in January.

The increase was announced Tuesday when the government released a key measure of inflation, which determines whether people who receive Social Security get a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA.

About 8 million people who receive Supplemental Security Income will also receive the 1.7 percent COLA, meaning the announcement will affect about one in five U.S. residents.

The increase is among the lowest since automatic annual adjustments were adopted in 1975.

It reflects relatively low inflation over the past year.

This year's increase was 3.6 percent.

Social Security payments for retired workers average $1,237 a month, or about $14,800 a year.