LADY LAKE, FL, Sep 18 – Calls have already started coming in regarding the cost-of-living increase or COLA Increase in 2024.
When do I get the increase?
Some news articles are already making announcements of the current CPI, which is the CPI-U. This is the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, (U.S. city average). The CPI-U is used in federal legislation, such as the indexation of federal income tax brackets. However, the COLA increase for Social Security is based on the CPI-W. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
CPI-U Vs CPI-W
The CPI-U is currently 3.2%, whereas the CPI-W at this point is 2.6%. This is based on comparing July 2022 to July 2023. The COLA is based on the average growth of inflation between July, August, and September of the prior year. This means the current CPI-W of 2.6% can go up or down when the average of those three months is determined. The COLA is announced around the middle of October and will be applied to your December 2023 Social Security payment that you will receive in January 2024. (There is not always a cost-of-living increase as was the case in 2010, 2011 and 2016.)
Predictions
Due to the declining inflation rate most economists are predicting a 2024 COLA increase between 2.7% and 3%. Whatever the COLA increase ends up being, you also need to take the cost of Medicare Part B into consideration. The Medicare Trustees forecast Medicare Part B will increase in 2024, but by how much has not yet been determined.
When will it be announced?
The COLA increase will be announced around mid October, or October 13th, 2023, specifically, and the cost of Medicare Part B toward the middle of November 2023. This means it will be a couple more months before the actual COLA increase is known, and almost another month to find out how much Medicare Part B’s cost will increase. You will receive the full COLA, but it will be reduced by any increase to Medicare Part B.
AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisory Service [email protected] or call: (888)750-2622
I remember when my husband first started drawing his SS benefits in the late 80’s. The raises were never as low as we receive now. Then they changed the way they figured SS raises. Suddenly the raises became much smaller. He was 22 years older than me, we were still raising children. I was working full time. We saw the difference really quick. From reasonable to very low raises made a definite difference in our income. Since I received benefits for our children, I had to account for the money I received for them. When I sent in the form I always stated how little that benefit money covered. If I wasn’t working it would have been really difficult.And they kept on borrowing (as they called it) from social security. If that money was replaced, there would be no problem with social security.
“Social Security: What Is The Cost-Of-Living Increase For 2024?”
Whatever it turns out to be, there is one thing you can be sure of: the increase in benefits won’t be even remotely reflective of the actual increase in the cost of living.
I am sure that the idiot democrats will give OUR Social Security to the ILLEGAL “IMMIGRANTS”…..I would suggest they think 3 or 4 times BEFORE DOING SUCH A DUMB THING…..That is OUR money….not the governments so DO NOT DO IT!!!
Lobby to delete tax on social security. was enacted in 1984
Okay folks. I was born in 1935. I ‘m 88 now for you who don’t know math. During my lifetime inflation has increased 2141%. Do you know what that means? I could buy a big candy bar for 5 cents. I could buy a gallon of 100 Octane gasoline for my car (1952) for 12.5 cents. I had an after school job (machinist) that paid me $18.00 per week. I had plenty of money then to buy the things I needed and wanted. What would that cost now? Politicians, who most are very greedy individuals have destroyed the value of our money because lobbyists (big business and foreign concerns) wanted to steal more U.S. dollars. They have succeeded dramatically because most politicians start out with little or no money, When someone (lobbyists) waves a fist full of $100 dollar bills in their face for certain legislation to benefit the lobbyists clients, guess what happens: American taxpayers take a back seat to the theft of their hard earned money. No one is guilty of stealing taxpayer money. How would you feel if someone stole most of your money you had in your bank? Politicians do it on a minute by minute basis. Why do you keep voting for the same crooks who are rapidly destroying our country and the value of our money?
Yep, the COLA is gonna go up a little over 3% based on tinkered with inflation numbers. Anyone who believes inflation is running at only 3% over last year rode a short bus to school for all 4 years attended.
And will there be any wailing and gnashing of teeth when the elderly start dropping dead from malnutrition, lack of medication or exposure from being homeless? Of course not, we have to think about the poor Nazis in Ukraine!
Likely Medicare increase will eat up most of whatever increase we get. It’s happened before and after the big increase last year, I figure this one will wind up being mostly go to Medicare.
I for one am sick and tired of the Government threating the SS benefits from us that have retired. We paid into this all our working lives, it is not entitlement, is our pension, and we earned this monthly payment. Now, if the Government would only stop borrowing!! our money with paying it back and really paying back with a % of interest would be nice, but no, they only think of their income. They make the big dollars and we elected them into office, therefore they work for us, without our approval they vote themselves raises when they want to. Then again, threated us on cutting back on our SS. Our Government is going to hell in a hand basket and Biden is carrying it. Please think about before you throw anymore money to other countries, we in America need to be helped before others.
This is what they used to call fuzzy math. The COLA should be based on average food, medical, power, and housing expenses.This is where the rubber meets the road. How does Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers relate to retired folks?
did a good job at making it even more confusing, though Medicare is confusing inherently!
I calculated my expected benefit for 2024 from the advertised 3.2% COLA increase. Then I received my statement for my new 2024 benefit amount and was surprised to see it is a couple dollars less than I expected.
It’s not 3.2%. The 2024 COLA is actually a little less at 3.16%.
I am interested in a non liberal medicare solution
Let’s see, I will get some kind of SS increase not really related to inflation and I will get some kind of Medicare that will off set what ever I get from SS. And since I already pay 3 times the Medicare average rates as a 74 yo retiree I’ll probably be worse off than I started. I guess I should be thankful, in a few years they plan on reducing my SS 25% but they’ll still increase Medicare if it’s still around….
None of that money or any other money involved with the government is their money. It all belongs to the American people and they are supposed to be good stewards(not) of the funds payed by the American people. I am retired and have gotten more mail asking for donations to government branches and committees overseeing fiscal responsibilities than I have ever gotten in my life. If I sent one dollar to everyone who asked for money to fix a situation that should have already been fixed by our congress I would already be broke and living in a tent in some big city. Due to the insane and spending and idiot appropriations of our Congress we are going broke. More money will never fix this. It is time the American people stand up and stop this insanity. Whatever it takes!!!!!!