Social Security COLA update coming this week - and it could be huge

[mystery-ak]

October 10, 2022 2:00am EDT
Social Security COLA update coming this week - and it could be huge
Inflation poised to give Social Security recipients biggest increase in decades

By Megan Henney FOXBusiness

Retired Americans collecting Social Security benefits will find out this week just how big their cost-of-living adjustment will be in 2023 as stubbornly high inflation rapidly diminishes their buying power.

The Social Security Administration will announce on Thursday the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment for people who receive retirement or disability benefits. Thanks to the hottest inflation in four decades, the increase is expected to be one of the largest in recent memory.

The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan group focusing on issues relating to older Americans, estimated the adjustment could be 8.7%, based on August inflation data, which showed that consumer prices soared 8.5% from the previous year, near a multi-decade high.

The annual Social Security change is calculated based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or the CPI-W, which jumped 8.7% over the past year.

Should Social Security beneficiaries see an 8.7% increase in their monthly checks next year, it would mark the steepest annual adjustment since 1981, when recipients saw an 11.2% bump. An increase of that magnitude would raise the average retiree benefit of $1,656 by about $144 per month or roughly $1,729 annually, the group said.

"A COLA of 8.7% is extremely rare and would be the highest ever received by most Social Security beneficiaries alive today," Mary Johnson, a policy analyst at the Senior Citizens League who conducted the research, said. "There were only three other times since the start of automatic adjustments that it was higher."

However, the decades-high benefit increase is not always good news for recipients, according to Johnson.

Higher Social Security payments are a bit of a Catch-22. They can reduce eligibility for low-income safety net programs, like food stamps, and can push people into higher tax brackets, meaning retirees will pay more taxes on a bigger share of their monthly payments.

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https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/social-security-cola-update-coming-week-could-be-huge

[Kamaji]

Whose pocket is all that largesse coming out of?

[roamer_1]

Whose pocket is all that largesse coming out of?

Nobody's!
They'll just print some more.
It'll be fine. 

[rustynail]

And Medicare will raise their rates accordantly.

[Wingnut]

And Medicare will raise their rates accordantly.

Actually this time ...no.  Medicare rates for next year have been announced.  They will go down $4.77 per month.  A fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that extra cash.
-To Paraphrase Maj. 'King' Kong

[Free Vulcan]

Whose pocket is all that largesse coming out of?

[mystery-ak]

Why Medicare Part B costs are falling in 2023

Part B requires monthly premium payments. Most people will pay $164.90 per month for full Part B coverage, which is down from $170.10 per month in 2022.

The decrease stems from the partial reversal of a big increase last year. That came as Medicare initially expected that the new Aduhelm treatment for Alzheimer's disease would be extremely expensive but also qualify for general coverage under the program. In the end, Medicare chose instead to offer more limited coverage, and that prompted the drop in premiums for 2023.

There's new coverage under Medicare Part B available this year for those who are 36 months or more past having received a kidney transplant. These patients don't qualify for full Part B coverage, but they can elect to get partial coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for a lower amount of $97.10 per month.

Some people with higher incomes, however, pay additional amounts for their Medicare Part B coverage. As you can see below, those in certain income levels have to pay as much as $560.50 per month in premiums. Note that the income levels date back two years, so that it's your 2021 modified adjusted gross income that determines what you pay in 2023.

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2022/10/09/heres-what-medicare-part-b-costs-and-covers-2023/

[catfish1957]

The fact that this ponzi scheme has been built on quadruple taxation, is proof we have no standards in electing our leaders.

(1) What is earned and deducted as SS through the years is taxed on your 1040.  This again throughout  your earning life.
(2) What is accumulated nets you 0% interest thoughout your life.  Nothing but  a fedzilla slush fund.  Pretty much recessive tax that saps what investment value there is
(3) The fact if you make almost minimal base this benefit is taxed is despicable.
(4) Then add that whatever is made is taxed (and addtionally) at whatever your tax bracket....

Your government is screwing you.  We have not held them accountable.

[LMAO]

Nobody's!
They'll just print some more.
It'll be fine. 

Which will result in more inflation, which are result in a higher COLA for Social Security, which will require more printing for that, which will require even higher COLA for Social Security….

[Free Vulcan]

Which will result in more inflation, which are result in a higher COLA for Social Security, which will require more printing for that, which will require even higher COLA for Social Security….

Which will result in:

[roamer_1]

Which will result in more inflation, which are result in a higher COLA for Social Security, which will require more printing for that, which will require even higher COLA for Social Security….

Did I really need a [/sarc] ??? 

 

[massadvj]

Even though I will benefit from this (and yes I will ultimately get far less out of SS than I put in), it will result in one of two things:

1. Higher inflation
2. A very severe recession or depression

I am betting on inflation because the Fed and the establishment cannot bear a prolonged recession. It is worth noting here that it is not your fault that you live in the most absurd times in the history of human civilization.  But it is your fault if you fail to capitalize on it.

So stop complaining about all the bullshit they do and learn to profit from their idiocy. There is no better satisfaction than profiting from the stupidity of socialists. I have been doing it for years.

[Kamaji]

Which will result in more inflation, which are result in a higher COLA for Social Security, which will require more printing for that, which will require even higher COLA for Social Security….

Exactly.

[LMAO]

Did I really need a [/sarc] ??? 

 

Nope

I know your post was meant in sarcasm.

But there’s a number of people, and even some conservatives, who believe that Social Security is their personal investment fund

And many believe if we just tax the rich a little bit more , we will be able to pay for it. They have no concept of our debt to GDP ratio or the term “unfunded liabilities”

The government knew for decades that this problem was coming. But instead of addressing it, anybody who would talk about the need for reforms was cast as someone who wanted Old people to eat cat food

So we continue our march on the road to inflation. Any politician running who promises not to touch Social Security and/or Medicare are making promises they may not be able to keep

[Kamaji]

Nope

I know your post was meant in sarcasm.

But there’s a number of people, and even some conservatives, who believe that Social Security is their personal investment fund

And many believe if we just tax the rich a little bit more , we will be able to pay for it. They have no concept of our debt to GDP ratio or the term “unfunded liabilities”

The government knew for decades that this problem was coming. But instead of addressing it, anybody who would talk about the need for reforms was cast as someone who wanted Old people to eat cat food

So we continue our march on the road to inflation. Any politician running who promises not to touch Social Security and/or Medicare are making promises they may not be able to keep