Social Security’s COLA Flaw Highlighted in MSN post - msn.com; Motley Fool
Although the design premise behind Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) called for ensuring that beneficiaries’ monthly payments would keep pace with inflation, the current rapid rise in living costs is shining a spotlight on a flaw in the actual calculation process. As most know, the monthly increase applied to Social Security benefit payments in January is the result of comparing third-quarter consumer prices (CPI-W) from the previous year to the same period from the preceding year. For 2022, this comparison produced a 5.9% adjustment and, while exceptional compared to the adjustments applied in the previous two decades, has proved to be inadequate in the face of current inflation numbers.
The Motley Fool’s Christy Bieber, in a post on msn.com, explains that “…sky-high inflation is really bad news for retirees,” and points out that retirees have lost considerable ground in the struggle to maintain stable buying power as prices ramp up during the months between CPI-W calculations. Her post, which can be accessed here, cites the importance of seniors taking steps to ensure that “…they have plenty of savings to fund a comfortable life even if Social Security falls short.”