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The 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), plus other increases - Arizona Star
In his own inimitable way, Tom Margenau – retired long-time Social Security employee – tackles the forthcoming changes to Social Security (and Medicare) for 2024, especially the ever-controversial Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). Why is COLA controversial? Well, largely because so many Social Security recipients feel the annual bump is always too small, yet many Washington D.C. pundits think it is always too big. In any case, inflation in the 3rd quarter of 2023 was 3.2% more than in the 3rd quarter of 2022, which means a 2024 COLA increase of 3.2% for all those eligible for Social Security.
COLA isn’t the only thing going up in 2024. As pointed out in the article, the Medicare Part B premium is also going up, and that will likely offset much of the 2024 COLA increase to everyone’s Social Security check (note: the actual 2024 Part B premium will be $174.70, rather than $179.80 as reported in this article, which was written before the final 2024 Part B premium amount was announced). In any case, those on both Social Security and Medicare will not see the full COLA increase because at least some of it (or perhaps all of it) will be eaten by the Medicare premium increase. Pretty hard for seniors who rely on Social Security to get ahead!
There are, of course, other increases which will occur in 2024, over and above those for Social Security and Medicare, as the article explains. Click here to read Tom Margenau’s Arizona Star article, posted at tucson.com.