Latest News
This is the first month used to calculate next year’s cost-of-living adjustment - Motley Fool
The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is based on the 3rd quarter of this year compared to last year’s 3rd quarter. To determine the COLA each year, the months of July, August, and September are compared to the same months of the prior year. The COLA is then announced on or around October 15th. The data is obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is based on the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
One thing about COLA is that if it is less than the prior year, your benefit can never go down; it just isn’t increased. There is a lot of discussion about using the CPI-E (Consumer Price Index for the Elderly) instead, but you should be aware that the difference is not large and that it is not always higher. CPI-W measures inflation for urban wage earners and clerical workers, whereas CPI-E measures inflation for seniors aged 62 and older. The chart below shows the difference between the two from 1984 through 2021.
Link to chart …..
The latest CPI-W estimates for 2027 range from 3.9% to 4.7%. But remember, these are just an estimate; the final number won’t be known until October. Christy Bieber of The Motley Fool has written an article on this topic; click here… to read it. Remember, a high COLA means inflation has been rising, and everything you buy is costing more! If inflation continues to rise from October through December, those increased costs will not be accounted for in your 2027 COLA adjustment. Check back in October for the final COLA number.
The links provided above connect readers to the full content of the posted articles. The URLs (internet addresses) for these links are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. Also, the opinions expressed in these postings are the viewpoints of the original source and are not explicitly endorsed by AMAC, Inc.; the AMAC Foundation, Inc.; or socialsecurityreport.org.