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Posted on 10/18/2011 5:46:50 PM PDT by STARWISE
Social Security recipients will get a raise in January — their first increase in benefits since 2009. It's expected to be about 3.5 percent.
Some 55 million beneficiaries will find out for sure Wednesday when a government inflation measure that determines the annual cost-of-living adjustment is released.
Congress adopted the measure in the 1970s, and since then it has resulted in annual benefit increases averaging 4.2 percent. But there was no COLA in 2010 or 2011 because inflation was too low.
That was small comfort to the millions of retirees and disabled people who have seen retirement accounts dwindle and home values drop during the period of economic weakness, said David Certner, legislative policy director for the AARP.
"People certainly feel like they are falling behind, and these are modest income folks to begin with, so every dollar counts," Certner said. "I think sometimes people forget what seniors' incomes are."
Some of the increase in January will be lost to higher Medicare premiums, which are deducted from Social Security payments.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
.. Ding!
Must be some more elections coming up.
Medicare enrollment is early this year, too, so I've got to get on that.
Fall on your knees and thank Obama Almighty for getting it past those greedy Republicans!
/sarcasm
With the medicare increase I will probably be lucky if I get a $5 COLA
I’ll take it. The bastards have screwed the elderly, poor, and ill for two years. Still won’t get me to vote for the POS.
No, it's how the CPI is calculated. This time every year, the SSA looks at a "basket of goods" deemed essential, and calculates how much the price went up in the previous year.
Three years ago, in 2008, we were just past the peak of a fast rise in gasoline prices. They were even higher than they peaked this year, due to the supply disruptions by Hurricane Ike. As a result, Social Security recipients got a big CPI increase at the beginning of 2009: 5.8%. The price of gasoline crashed after that.
But, the new price baseline was set. Since oil products are a big component of that "basket of goods", the calculation actually yielded a decrease in the CPI for the next two years. But, the SSA doesn't reduce benefits: it just freezes them until the CPI catches up. It finally caught up this year.
The truth is: Social Security recipients got their CPI increase for 2009, 2011, and 2011 all at the same time in 2009. They have actually done better than if the CPI increases had been incrementally spread out over the three years, because recipients have been getting the higher benefit payment for the entire time.
I read the booklet they sent me recently and did not see anything about re enrolling. It also stated that the medicare premium hadn't been released yet, which is a sure indicator that it's going up.
I'll be hitting 65 next May. I haven't asked yet how big a hit Medicare will be for me. Can you give me a ballpark figure or does it vary with your SS amount?
Just one question?...I got out of Bernie Madoff’s deal 2 yrs before it shit the bed....Should i feel guilty I met my retirement goals?
I don't have COLA but will be lucky to end up with any increase. I'm thankful for what I get since I never paid enough in so get it on my ex's.
I finally quit smoking, not to save money, but at two packs a day, it was adding up fast so that's a nice savings.
I read the booklet they sent me recently and did not see anything about re enrolling. It also stated that the medicare premium hadn't been released yet, which is a sure indicator that it's going up.
I sit read and surf with the radio on after 2 PM only half listen. Am sure I heard something about enrollment. It's especially important if you're changing plans. If you keep your present plan, I don't know if it's auto renew or not.
I emailed my son to find out. He sells the supplements but hates the ins business now. He didn't know anything about it. I'll have to remember to call somewhere, wait until we find out if there will be an increase or not.
Add military retirees to that also. But, I have seen where they plan to raise our Tricare insurance by any amount we get in any pay raise. So, if we get a 3.5% raise, we get a 3.5% insurance cost raise. So, just keep the stinking money.
Thanks STARWISE.
Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, being new to Medicare in 2012, it looks like I'm going to be taking better than a $115 hit on my SS check. Just what I need.
Thank you.
The higher “medicare’ payments are part B & part D.
IF you do not sign up for either of these, nothing is taken from your SS.
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