Social Security to reveal big cost of living increase Thursday
The Social Security Administration is expected to announce a cost of living adjustment, or COLA, of at least 8% Thursday amid a rising inflation rate that has been punishing for Americans on fixed incomes. The annual adjustment is forecast to be the largest one -time increase since 1981, and the largest experienced by beneficiaries alive today. The nonprofit Senior Citizens League predicts an adjustment coming in at 8.7%, implying that Social Security recipients could see an increase of about $144 starting Jan. 1, 2023. The increase that took effect this year was 5.9%. The annual adjustment is calculated by averaging inflation readings among urban wage earners and clerical workers from July, August and September. Inflation readings in those first two months came in at approximately 9.1% and 8.6%. Despite the expected increase, the methodology the SSA uses to calculate the annual adjustment could still leave most older people financially vulnerable, according to Mary Johnson, policy a...