Social Security Benefits Are Heading for the Biggest Increase in 40 Years [View all]
Social Security recipients are on track to receive the highest cost-of-living increase in more than four decades next year.
Social Security checks get an inflation adjustment every year based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. In determining the cost of living adjustment, or COLA, the Social Security Administration compares the average figures for July, August and September to the index’s average level over the same period a year earlier.
The July data, disclosed Wednesday, rose 9.1% during the past 12 months. That is slightly higher than the headline inflation number, measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, which recorded an 8.5% annual increase. The official Social Security COLA will be set following September’s data.
If inflation remains at the current level, on average, over the next two months, the approximately 70 million retirees and disabled people who receive Social Security benefits could see their monthly checks rise by about 9.6% in 2023, according to estimates from the nonprofit Senior Citizens League, which advocates for protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare benefits.
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The Social Security Administration won’t announce the official cost of living adjustment for 2023 until October. But today’s inflation data provides a strong clue as to what recipients might expect... With a COLA of 9.6%, the average monthly Social Security check for retired workers would rise by about $160 in 2023, to $1,829 in January from $1,669 this year.
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A June report by the trustees of Medicare’s trust funds projected that Part B premiums will remain stable at $170.10 a month in 2023. The report projects a slight decline in the monthly base premium for Part D prescription drug coverage, to $32.90 in 2023 from $33.37 this year.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/social-security-benefits-are-heading-for-the-biggest-increase-in-40-years-11660138256 (subscription)
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