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Insider’s Report: Expect a Lower COLA Next Year
The health and financial security of you and millions of older Americans depends so much on getting an adequate Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) each year.
Yet, seniors can expect to receive a small 2.5% COLA next year. With the exception of a few years, this continues an
alarming trend of low COLAs despite the fact that automatic COLAs were legislated to protect the buying power of Social Security beneficiaries!
Yet, seniors can expect to receive a small 2.5% COLA next year. With the exception of a few years, this continues an alarming trend of low COLAs despite the fact that automatic COLAs were legislated to protect the buying power of Social Security beneficiaries!
The current COLA formula fails to take into account that seniors must spend a significantly larger share of their income on health care expenses, even as these costs are rising faster than the rate of inflation. So how can Congress expect retirees to keep up now?
They can’t. In fact, for years older Americans have endured a declining standard of living due to a deeply flawed COLA. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has admitted that, “federal retirement benefits could be subjected to adjustment based on potentially inaccurate information.”
Bottom line, Social Security is basing its inflation protection off of the spending habits of working-age urban and clerical workers — not off of the very different spending patterns of seniors who are actually receiving Social Security benefits!
That’s why the National Committee is calling on lawmakers to pass legislation introduced in Congress that changes the COLA calculation by measuring inflation on the goods and services that seniors rely on — especially health care, groceries and housing. U.S. Representative John Garamendi (CA-08) has introduced a bill called the “Fair COLA for Seniors Act” (H.R. 716) ( [link removed] ) which would ensure seniors receive a fairer and more adequate COLA every year.
America’s seniors have paid into the system their entire working lives. They shouldn’t have to walk a financial tightrope every month, in constant fear of falling into poverty. This Congress, representing the wealthiest country in the world, must do better for its older — and most vulnerable — citizens.
Please sign our Petition to Congress urging lawmakers to pass the Fair COLA for Seniors Act today! ( [link removed] )
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Make a donation now to help us keep the pressure on Congress. Your continued support is essential to the National Committee's mission. ( [link removed] )
New Podcast Episode: Vote4Social Security Episode 3: Jim Roosevelt & the History of Social Security
Check out the National Committee’s latest “You Earned This” podcast episode. ( [link removed] ) This is the third episode in a special series of voter education podcasts about Social Security for 2024! We sit down with Jim Roosevelt, grandson of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vice Chair of the National Committee’s Advisory Board, who says that history shows us the way forward during this crucial election. When voters look at candidates’ positions on Social Security, it helps to know the basic history of America’s most successful social insurance program.
In this short video ( [link removed] ), which we urge you to view, James Roosevelt also shares why it’s so important for seniors like you to go to the polls on November 5th and vote for candidates who will protect Social Security.
Medicare Open Enrollment Has Begun
Have you looked at your Medicare Part D and Advantage plans to ensure they still work for you? Does it make more sense to enroll into traditional Medicare? Each year, both Medicare Advantage and Part D plans make changes to their benefits, cost-sharing, provider networks and monthly premiums. That means the plan that best served you in 2024 may not be the best plan for you next year.
We certainly understand why so many beneficiaries choose inertia rather than the tedious and often challenging task of comparing the various private insurance plans offered in Medicare Advantage, Part D or joining — or staying in — traditional Medicare. However, given that out-of-pocket health care costs consume 26% of the average Social Security check, it’s especially important that beneficiaries take the time to ensure last year’s plans still meet their needs. ( [link removed] )
And to help you or a loved one navigate through the sometimes complex Medicare program, you can find unbiased help from trained and knowledgeable counselors through your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). ( [link removed] )
Ask Us!
Whether you’re retired or approaching retirement, our team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits.
You can either search our archives ( [link removed] ) for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns or submit your question here ( [link removed] ).
This week’s question is:
I know that the Medicare premium is deducted from your Social Security check at age 65. If I retire at the age of 62, is Medicare deducted also?
Click here to read the answer. ( [link removed] )
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Ask Us
Whether you’re currently retired or approaching retirement, we can help answer your questions and provide valuable advice on Social Security.
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Join Now/Donate
Your support sustains our campaigns in Washington to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare.
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Social Security Benefits
Learn more about the Social Security program and the policies the National Committee supports that would strengthen your earned benefits.
Out today: The good news and bad news about inflation ( [link removed] )
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare says it's a good thing that retirees get this automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustment increase, but it would be better if the COLA better matched their actual expenses. (October 10, 2024, NPR, Scott Horsley)
Listen Here → ( [link removed] )
Vote4SocialSecurity Episode 4: Benefits for Spouses & Children ( [link removed] )
Social Security isn’t just a retirement program. Eligible spouses and children also can collect benefits. As NCPSSM’s Maria Freese tells us, the program protects Americans of all ages in the event that something happens to a family breadwinner. (October 4, 2024, www.ncpssm.org ( [link removed] ), National Committee’s You Earned This Podcast)
Listen Here → ( [link removed] )
Here’s why the Social Security COLA is smaller for 2025 ( [link removed] )
“The traditional formula (CPI-W) does not fully account for the impact of inflation on the goods and services seniors spend the most money on — especially health care and housing,” Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement. (October 10, 2024, CNBC, Lorie Konish)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
Harris’ Medicare Expansion Plan Would Boost Seniors & Their Families ( [link removed] )
“We have long championed the expansion of federal support for long-term care — and Kamala Harris gave that cause an enormous boost," said National Committee President & CEO, Max Richtman. (October 8, 2024, www.ncpssm.org ( [link removed] ), Press Release)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
Recipients say Social Security's 2.5% cost-of-living boost falls short ( [link removed] )
The Social Security COLA is now calculated according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners or CPI-W. Social Security Commissioner O’Malley said lawmakers who are advocating for a shift to a fairer formula “are advancing a very sound policy.” (October 14, 2024, The Miami Times, Ftima Hussein)
Read More → ( [link removed] )
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