COLA
Showcasing the Deficiency of the Current COLA Process
Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process supposedly measures the cost increases across the spectrum of spending categories Americans face. It’s based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), and it’s been that way…
Social Security Facts and Factoids
Forbes contributor Eli Amdur, in a post on forbes.com, provides several interesting trivia about Social Security, along with some serious points on areas where governmental leadership is needed to correct flaws in the program’s structure. Among the points he raises…
Dealing With Social Security’s Inherent Inability to Ensure Retirement
The more you look at Social Security, and the more you ponder its place in your retirement planning strategy, the more you become aware of the program’s basic premise. This premise, in simple terms, is to keep seniors from falling…
Will the 2024 COLA be lower than three percent?
Although the public announcement of the 2024 Social Security cost-of-living-adjustment is six months away, financial experts are predicting a significantly lower COLA increase for 2024. It appears that the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2024 will be…
Next-year’s COLA may be lower
Recent data shows spending among older Americans has increased. This increase in spending may be due to this year’s historic cost-of-living increase, the largest in almost four decades. However, while older Americans may have received a hefty cost-of-living increase, that…
Social Security benefits may not increase as much next year
Approximately 70 million Americans–Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries–saw an increase of 8.7 percent in their monthly benefits in 2023. According to new research from the Bank of American Institute, the cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 was one of…
The average Social Security benefit in 2023
The 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries this month. The 2023 COLA is one of the largest since 1981 when benefits rose by 11.2 percent. The average Social…
Keep your COLA letter in a safe place
You should have received a letter from Social Security Administration concerning your new 2023 Social Security benefit amount, which increased by 8.7 percent in January. Do not throw out or lose that letter. Why? You may need it for several…
Understanding Social Security’s COLA: It’s not as straightforward as many think
What’s so hard about figuring out what your January Social Security payment will be? Don’t you just multiply your December amount by 8.7%? Well, as AOL contributor Vance Cariaga points out in a post on aol.com, it’s not that simple.…
Do not throw out your COLA letter
The Social Security Administration will mail COLA notices throughout the month of December to retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries, SSI recipients, and representative payees. If you have received your 2023 Social Security COLA letter, do not throw it away; you…