COLA
The latest COLA estimate
The Social Security Administration typically announces the COLA for the following year in October; however, that has not stopped financial and Social Security experts from weighing in on the percentage for 2025. The government released July’s Consumer Price Index for…
Aim to be less reliant on Social Security COLAs
The official 2025 COLA will be released by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in mid-October 2024, usually around October 15th. However, the announcement may not be what seniors are hoping for. Why? Experts estimate a lower COLA than the previous…
How does the COLA work?
Each year, depending on the rate of inflation compared to the third quarter of last year, Social Security beneficiaries get a “Cost of Living Adjustment”. Next year, 2025, is expected to be low compared to the last few years. Christy…
Economist Predicts How a President Harris Would Handle Social Security Reform
Over 70 million people receive Social Security benefits. Angela Mae of Yahoo Finance asked Professor Dennis Shirshikov of City University of New York for his predictions on how Kamala Harris is likely to handle the impending insolvency of the program, should…
Understanding Cost-of-Living Adjustments
The annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process is a component of the program generally understood by most current and future beneficiaries. The premise that COLA reflects inflation is part of this general understanding, of course, but the mechanics may…
Good news and bad news for retirees
What will the 2025 COLA be? We will not know until mid-October when the Social Security Administration releases the amount based on this year’s third-quarter inflation figures compared to the previous year’s. However, that has not stopped experts from estimating…
Increased COLA Percentages in the Future?
There is a possibility of changing the way Cost of Living Adjustments are calculated in the future. It would depend on lawmakers agreeing to use a different method – relying on the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) instead…
2025 COLA Situation
Since inflation is currently lower the COLA increase can be expected to be lower. It may be the lowest we have seen in the last few years. The only way this could change is if inflation suddenly increases in the…
The Harsh Realities of Living on Social Security
It’s common knowledge that the average monthly Social Security benefit these days is slightly over $1,900, and there’s also a fairly common understanding that the program’s retirement benefits are intended to replace about 40% of a retiree’s average career earnings.…
COLA Watch–2025 Edition
Continuation of the recent trend in CPI numbers has led forecasters to suggest that the 2025 Social Security COLA could fall into the 2.57% to 3% range, according to a post by Ted Godbout on the National Association of Plan…