Social Security and the Annual COLA Adjustment
Social Security is adjusted annually according to COLA which is based off of the Consumer Price Index. It was recently announced that the Price Index did not see enough of an increase in the past year to constitute a raise in benefits for 2016. This caused a number of problems in conjunction with rising costs in Medicaid, which has prompted action from congress in the form of a bill that gives those affected temporary reprieve from the extra costs. This has given rise to questions on how affective and relevant the current system is in regards to regulating the automated benefit increases and has prompted discussion on how to better the process. For more information visit this article by Charles Blahous with Economics21.
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.