inflation
Why a bigger Social Security COLA isn’t necessarily a win
The Social Security Administration COLA is determined by comparing the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of the current year to the same period in the previous year, and applying…
EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey Spotlights Delining Retirement Confidence
Inflation and Social Security’s unstable financial trajectory emerged as key indicators of declining retirement confidence among U.S. workers and retirees, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s (EBRI) 36th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey. The report’s “Key Findings” section opens with…
Stretching Finances in Retirement…Some Thoughts
Inflation is on the march again, fueled by rising fuel prices amid the conflict in Iran. Interest rates are trending downward, affecting return on savings (if you’re fortunate enough to have savings). Healthcare costs are outpacing other areas of senior…
What’s Happening on the 2027 COLA Front?
Proclamations about what could be a substantial increase in the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that beneficiaries could see in their January 2027 deposits are coming in fast as inflation grows amid oil price uncertainties. Estimates as high as…
2027 COLA Watch: Would a Hefty Upswing Improve Your Standard of Living?
Most “experts” these days are producing giddy proclamations about what could be a substantial increase in the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that beneficiaries will see in their January 2027 deposits. Estimates as high as 3.9% are in the…
Will inflation derail your retirement?
Twenty-five percent of the study recipients in Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study stated that they are concerned about inflation and how it will affect their retirement. And the experts agree, “They’re right to worry, pros say. “Inflation can…
Highlighting the Inadequacy of Social Security’s COLA
Much has been written about Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process and its inability to keep pace with the cost patterns seniors face. The Senior Citizens League, for example, reports on its website that “Social Security benefits have lost…
2025 saw lowest inflation in 5 years, but seniors are still struggling!
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the government’s watchdog for inflation, and BLS recently announced that the 2025 actual inflation rate was 2.7% – the lowest since the year 2020. Lower inflation is, of course, a good sign,…
Interest rates and future COLAs: A source of concern for beneficiaries
There’s been a fair amount of hype around the recent Federal Reserve actions on key interest rates, most recently a mid-December quarter-point cut. That, of course, was a welcome move for investors, even though its impact had already been largely…
Retirement Readiness and Financial Preparedness Can be Two Different Measures
Many U.S. adults approaching retirement express confidence in their ability to deal with living costs in their later years. An overwhelming majority–89 percent–of responses to a global survey by Prudential said so, yet just slightly more than half said they’d…