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The (In)adequacy of the 2024 COLA Increase - Newsweek
The forthcoming 3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to everyone’s Social Security benefit was announced, with great fanfare, in October. However, the news was received with a rather dull thud by seniors still struggling with the effects of soaring inflation over the past few years. No doubt about it, even though the 2024 COLA is higher than the 20-year-average of 2.5%, next year’s COLA feels paltry when compared to higher prices seniors now pay for just about everything.
To add insult to injury, shortly following the smaller (than last year) COLA increase came the news that Medicare’s monthly Part B premium is going up by nearly $10 per month, taking a big bite out of that COLA increase (the Medicare Part B premium is deducted from Social Security). All of which means that many American senior citizens continue to struggle to make ends meet, and that Social Security is increasing important, leading many to feel that a 3.2% increase is insufficient. This Newsweek article by Suzanne Blake reports on how about 62% of surveyed seniors believe the 3.2% COLA increase is inadequate. Click here to read more.