However, COLA hasn’t kept pace, and seniors were the only group that saw its share of poverty increase between 20, the Census Bureau said.Įven though inflation this year has been running below the 8.7% beneficiaries received, they haven't been able to recoup the losses they incurred in 20, when inflation reached a 40-year high, Johnson said. Seniors are also still reeling from 20 inflationĪnnual COLAs are meant to ensure Social Security beneficiaries’ purchasing power isn't eroded by inflation. In the League’s survey, 62% of respondents said food costs were still their fastest-growing cost, while housing costs were most worrisome among 22%. In the May inflation report, shelter costs climbed 8% over the last 12 months, food gained 6.7%, transportation services jumped 10.2%, electricity rose 5.9% and “medical care commodities”, which include prescription and nonprescription drugs and equipment and supplies, added 4.4%. Retirees spend most of it on housing, food, transportation, utilities and healthcare – all of which are still increasing at a quick pace. “While the rate of inflation has slowed, prices have remained high in certain essential categories of spending,” said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League.
What to expect: 2023 Social Security COLA increase An ongoing survey by The Senior Citizens League with 2,275 respondents through June 6 showed older consumers are reporting little improvement in their household spending.
Isn’t it OK if COLA is lower as long as inflation falls, too? That’s less than one-third of the four-decade high of 8.7% COLA in 2023 and below last month's estimate for a 3.1% increase for 2024. While investors welcomed the easing inflation and pushed up stocks after the data landed, Social Security beneficiaries may have groaned a little. Cooling inflation rate means a significantly lower cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 2.7% for next year, according to a forecast from The Senior Citizens League, a nonprofit seniors group. Shelter, which includes rents, rose 8%, continuing to put upward pressure on headline inflation. Even though food inflation has slowed, it was still up 6.7% over the last 12 months.
Energy prices fell 11.7% over that time frame, helping to keep prices in check.
Slowing inflation is cheered by most people, but for Social Security recipients, it’s a double-edged sword.Īnnual inflation cooled in May to 4%, the smallest rise since March 2021 and well off the peak of 9.1% in June last year.
0 kommentar(er)
