Huge News for Social Security Recipients

This article originally appeared on The Epoch Times and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Jack Phillips

Retired Americans receiving Social Security payments may see a higher-than-anticipated increase next year, a policy group predicted, citing higher-than-expected inflation for the start of 2024.

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for monthly payments could be 2.4 percent starting next year, an increase from a previous forecast, said the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan group representing retired people, according to several reports this week.

“This is way early,” Mary Johnson, a policy analyst with the Senior Citizens League, told CNBC. “It will change multiple times since the COLA is on the average inflation in the third quarter of the year against the previous year.”

She added: “A lot can happen between now and then.”

In the Department of Labor’s monthly report this week, data showed that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent in February, after climbing 0.3 percent in January. Shelter, which includes rents, rose 0.4 percent after advancing 0.6 percent in the prior month. Gasoline prices also went up 3.8 percent after declining by 3.3 percent in January.

In the 12 months through February 2024, the CPI increased 3.2 percent, after advancing 3.1 percent in January 2024, according to the data.

Elaborating, Ms. Johnson told Yahoo Finance that “shelter, medical, and transportation prices remain higher than the overall inflation rate,” which is calculated using the CPI.

“It is an ongoing struggle for seniors and retired people trying to keep up with these costs,” she added. “It’s like being stuck in the mud. They’re spinning their wheels. Every time someone thinks they have all their bills settled, and they get a small raise with a new COLA, there’s always some new healthcare disaster right around the corner, or their rent increases by more than the amount of the COLA.”

But Ms. Johnson said that she believes the inflation numbers will be lower in 2024. “Clearly, inflation rates are expected to fall from 2023 levels, and the COLA for 2025 will also be lower,” she added to Yahoo Finance.

Last month, the seniors policy group projected that 2025’s Social Security checks would see a 1.75 percent increase based on the January CPI data.

“It’s really important for people to stay informed about what’s on the horizon for Social Security,” Ms. Johnson said. “Some of those changes can affect our pocketbooks in the very near future. So it’s a good time to get up to speed on what those changes are and how it could affect you.”

Read the full story in The Epoch Times.