COLA and 2017
We are currently on track to not see a cost of living increase for Social Security benefits in 2017 yet again. These increases are tied to the rate of inflation, although they only kick in if inflation increases by so much. Even with the increases, benefits do not increase at the same rate. Furthermore, no COLA does not mean that there was no inflation, just that inflation did not increase enough for there to be an increase in benefits. For example, last year there were increases in just about every are but there was no COLA because gas prices dropped enough to “negate” this affect. Many are concerned that this system does not properly reflect how those receiving Social Security spend their money and therefore are rallying for a different metric to be used for these calculations. For more information visit this article by Mary Beth Franklin with Investment News.
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