Social Security and the Effect of Inflation - GOBankingRates
As just about everyone dependent on Social Security will attest, your SS monthly dollars won’t buy as much now as they once did. Inflation causes a fairly constant rise in consumer prices, but is especially damaging when it is unusually high, as it has been for the past year. In reality, inflation has been nipping away at Social Security’s buying power for many years, to the point that your Social Security dollars today will only buy about 60% of what they would buy in 2000. But with the painfully high inflation rates in recent months (8.5% in April) and no relief in sight, those relying on Social Security as a major income source are especially vulnerable. Thankfully, Social Security laws provide for an annual Cost of Living Adjustment, but the 5.9% COLA bump awarded for 2022 doesn’t come close to offsetting the 10% drop in buying power beneficiaries have experienced over the past year. Inflation is an insidious thing, especially to Social Security beneficiaries, as discussed in this GOBankingRates article by Josephine Nesbit. Click here to read more.