Social Security Payments Getting Readjusted
Here’s what you should know…
The beneficiaries of Social Security are expected to receive a less substantial cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in the coming year due to the decrease in inflation rates after a previously hot streak.
According to Fox, the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for issues affecting elderly Americans, the adjustment could be approximately 3%. This estimate is based on inflation data from March, which revealed that the consumer price index increased by only 0.2% compared to the previous month, and by 5% compared to last year – the slowest rate of growth since May 2021.
If Social Security beneficiaries receive a 3% increase in their monthly payments next year, it would be a significant drop from 2023. Last year, beneficiaries experienced an 8.7% increase, the largest in forty years.
If the increase in Social Security payments is of that magnitude, it would result in the average retiree benefit of $1,827 going up by approximately $54 per month.
However, Mary Johnson, a policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League who conducted the research, suggests that this is only an initial estimate and is subject to change. The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the final adjustment percentage in October.
Johnson explained, “If inflation continues to fall at the current rate it appears that the COLA for 2024 will be lower than 3%. Although easing inflation should relieve older consumers, new survey findings from The Senior Citizens League indicate that recent steep inflation has had long-lasting financial impacts on many older households, making recovery difficult.”
From January 2021 to December 2022, the typical Social Security benefit did not keep pace with high inflation and fell short by approximately $1,054 in total.
