Preliminary figures suggest an increase of roughly 1.5 percent, which would be among the smallest since automatic increases were adopted in 1975, according to an analysis by AP.
The exact size of the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, won't be known until the Labor Department releases the inflation report for September. That was supposed to happen Wednesday, but the report was delayed indefinitely because of the partial government shutdown.
As AP reports, nearly 58 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The average monthly payment is $1,162. A 1.5 percent raise would increase the typical monthly payment by about $17.
The COLA is calculated by comparing consumer prices in July, August and September each year to prices in the same three months from the previous year. If prices go up over the course of the year, benefits go up, starting with payments delivered in January.
This year, average prices for July and August were 1.4 percent higher than they were a year ago, according to the CPI-W.
They should use the Big Mac to measure cost of living adjustments. Everyone knows seniors spend most of their social security check at McDonalds.
ReplyDeleteActually they spend it at their daily social events, a.k.a. going to a doctor's office.
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