Social Security COLA
2027 COLA Watch: Be Careful What You Wish For
Earlier this week, we published an update on the projections for 2027’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), noting that pundits seem to be zeroing in on a range of 3.4% to 3.6%. An adjustment of that size would, of course,…
An Early Look at Medicare Part B Premiums for 2027
Earlier this week, we offered a r etrospective on Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment process (COLA), citing the varying projections that have hit the airwaves. As a companion to understanding what might lie ahead for beneficiaries in 2027, today we’re sharing…
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…
Social Security COLA and Inflation: Defining the Shortfall
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…
COLA Watch: 2026…Could a Government Shutdown Delay the Final Projection?
Every October, the analysts in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reach prominence as they grind the numbers leading to the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Traditionally, the BLS supplies the data needed to finalize the COLA calculation in…
Although Increasing, Inflation Remains a Serious Concern for Seniors
You’ve probably seen a range of news accounts suggesting that the cost-of-living adjustment for 2025 will be a bit lower than the increases of the past few years. That projection, of course, is the mathematical effect of the consumer price…
Retirement, Inflation, and COLA’s shortcomings
Seniors have a general concern about the durability of their financial plans in retirement, and that was cited in a post by The Motley Fool’s Maurie Backman in a post on their website. Part of the issue at hand is…
More on the 2023 COLA Trajectory
Fox News reporter Megan Henley offers thoughts on what next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment might look like. Her post summarizes the methodology used to calculate the adjustment, as well as the timing for release of next year’s adjustment percentage,…
A Look-ahead at Next Year’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment…It Won’t be Pretty!
Social Security beneficiaries are still catching their breath from last year’s big run-up in inflation, using the extraordinary 8.7% COLA to fill some of the holes in their monthly expenses. The 2023 COLA was the largest in four decades, providing…
Tax Season is at a midpoint, and Social Security taxation is on many minds
Tax season is the time when many of us are reminded of the daunting impact that income taxes–state and federal–have on our financial situation. And, as the tax season rapidly moves toward its April end, not being fully aware of…