IMHO, This is Not cause for celebration — just relief
If inflation stays flat in August and September, then the resulting average inflation reading for the three summer months in 2022 would be 8.9% higher than the corresponding average in 2021. It would take 1% monthly increases in both August and September to get the COLA for 2023 close to the 10% mark, and increases of that size just don’t look particularly probable.
That said, Social Security recipients don’t have to worry about seeing their projected COLA fall much further. Even if the Consumer Price Index fell 1% month-over-month in August and September, it would still leave the summer average up 7.8% from 2021 levels. That would still be enough to make the 2023 COLA the biggest in decades.
The key point to remember is that Social Security’s COLA isn’t a raise in the traditional sense. It’s meant only to help recipients keep up with the pace of inflation and avoid a loss of purchasing power. So regardless of whether it comes in around 9%, higher, or lower, it will only reflect the fact that it’s costing more for retirees to buy the things they need.
Nevertheless, for those who rely largely on Social Security for the bulk of their income in retirement, getting a COLA will be a critical element of their financial survival. Having to wait until January isn’t ideal, but when higher checks come, they’ll provide a valuable lifeline for those struggling to make ends meet.
The Medicare premium usually eats up a good chunk of the SS increase. 2022 had a big jump.
The 2023 Medicare premium MIGHT even be lowered, because the 2022 increase was primarily due to an expensive cancer drug cost.
I’ll bet the essentially mandated Medicare charges wipe it out, again.
Wildly increased costs on things older citizen buy. No way to work fulltime jobs and overtime for many due to disabilities.
So if skateboards, gamer chairs, video games and starter houses go down it doesn’t help with insulin, expensive prescriptions, office visits to doctors and specialists and grocery necessities which are going way up.
there’s a good chance Social Security beneficiaries will end up losing buying power in 2023, even if their monthly payments end up increasing a lot.
Does that mean social security will go broke sooner?
It might be a little help for those on SS but the Medicare costs will go up and take most of the increase away. I’d prefer that prices of everything return to pre-Biden levels.
Don’t care of it is 5K increase.
I do NOT WANT it from Pedo Joe.
p
Sad the 10th Amendment isn’t honored instead....
Biden buying senior voters.
Last year my SS went up. So did my medicare payment.
Left with $8 WooHoo
Just in time for mid-terms.
They are still not buying my vote.
Oh thank you Joe Biden!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I’ll vote for you for sure now!! /s
It would really help if their calculated COLA reflected reality.
What investments other than the stock market get 8% return?
Sometimes those raises get offset by increased medicare deductibles.
5.9% is $40-45 a week. Pittance
“Socking away $300 a month”
My first job was for $1.30 an hour gross & it was a very good rate of pay at the time.
Gross monthly pay ==$225.00.
No way to ‘sock away $300/mo’.
As a slice of the federal budget, Social Security going up
10.00%, is a terrible thing. It’s already forecast to be
on the rocks not long from now. Imagine if we had 10.00%
increases for 3-5 years in a row. Would that push SS over
the edge?
It’s not the only income I have, but it’s a big chunk of
it. If I were to have to get by on 0.75% or 0.50% of what
I have been receiving, it would severely impact my standard
of living.
This inflation that Biden has brought us, does not bode
well for anyone.