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Social Security COLA and Inflation: Defining the Shortfall - The Motley Fool
With inflation resurfacing as a concern (think oil prices and their effect on so many areas of the economy), and as a variety of pundits offer projections on what next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be, now’s a good time to put the issue in perspective by reviewing a 10-year lookback on the relevant numbers. The Mothel Fool’s Katie Brockman, in a post yesterday on their website, does exactly that, comparing inflation (via CPI-W) measurements with the commensurate COLA growth for the 2016-2026 period. The difference is startling–a 13% loss in buying power–and, in light of the looming Social Security insolvency, signals the potential for near-term disaster for America’s seniors.