We're raising an early alarm on next year's Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)! While the Social Security Trustees estimate that the COLA for 2021 will be 2.3%, that projection does not reflect the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on inflation — and the actual COLA for next year could be much lower. The same report estimates that the Medicare Part B premium will rise to $153.30 per month in 2021, an $8.70 increase over last year's. If these projections hold true, the 2021 COLA increase will quickly be eaten up by rising prescription drug costs, soaring food costs and other expenses.

The health and financial security of millions of Americans depends on getting a fair and accurate COLA next year and every year. With almost two-thirds of beneficiaries relying on Social Security for over half their income, and the average retiree receiving modest benefits of about $18,036 a year, the annual COLA is critically important to millions of Americans, who need it just to maintain their standard of living and stay above the poverty line.

Social Security beneficiaries deserve a COLA raise and relief in their wallets. Yet, next year's projected 2.3% COLA (which again, could end up being lower) means that millions of beneficiaries will once again find their expenses outpacing their Social Security benefit. And it demonstrates the complete failure of the current COLA formula to deliver a fair COLA that accurately measures seniors' expenses, including higher out-of-pocket health care and housing costs. (The Social Security Administration will issue its official COLA announcement for 2021 in October.)

That's why the National Committee is working on your behalf to convince lawmakers to pass the "Fair COLA for Seniors Act (H.R. 1553)," introduced by U.S. Representative John Garamendi (CA-03). This long overdue bill would use the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) for the purpose of determining the Social Security COLA. Using the CPI-E will ensure that benefits for retirees are not diminished by rising costs for the goods and services that seniors disproportionately consume.

At a time when many older Americans are struggling just to make ends meet, Congress should act quickly to adopt a COLA formula that takes a more accurate measure of seniors' expenses, which is the CPI for the Elderly (CPI-E). The CPI-E has been in the experimental phase since 1982. It's time to finish the job by fully funding the development of this more accurate COLA formula!

Some nursing home and assisted living facilities have tried to take the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act payments intended for residents on Medicaid by requiring them to sign over those funds to the facility. Yet, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the economic impact payments are considered a tax credit and pursuant to the law do not count as "resources" that can be seized by these facilities just because a resident is on Medicaid.

If you know of a resident who has had their CARES payment garnished by a nursing care facility, contact your state attorney general and ask for their help in getting it back.

Following on the heels of President Trump's repeated calls to implement a payroll tax cut, which would reduce revenue going into the Social Security Trust Funds, the White House is now floating yet another outrageous idea to undermine Social Security and jeopardize workers' future benefits.

Senior White House officials are considering a plan that would allow Americans to choose to receive checks of up to $10,000 in exchange for a delay of their Social Security benefits. This is similar to another proposal that Senator Marco Rubio (FL), Ivanka Trump and others have pushed in recent years that would have sacrificed parents’ future Social Security benefits in exchange for paid family leave. Both of these plans represent a gross misuse of Social Security for purposes completely unrelated to its core purpose: providing baseline retirement security for American workers.

Americans should not be forced to mortgage their future Social Security benefits in order to pay for rent, food and other expenses today. Yet, this bad proposal is just the latest in a series of proposed assaults on Social Security, including calls from White House advisors and so-called fiscal hawks in Congress to cut payroll taxes, raise the retirement age, adopt stingier COLAs and slash Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) by billions of dollars — along with their insistence that Social Security be cut to pay for tax breaks that benefit the very wealthy and big corporations.

While the National Committee believes that Congress should pass additional legislation that helps workers survive the coronavirus pandemic, both physically and financially, earned Social Security benefits are sacrosanct and should only be available for Social Security, period.

According to the 2020 Social Security Trustees Report, the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay full benefits until 2035 and incoming payroll taxes will be sufficient to pay 79% of scheduled benefits thereafter if Congress takes no preventative action. Some lawmakers in Washington continue to use this modest gap in long-term funding to justify proposals for large cuts in Social Security benefits designed to reduce the federal deficit. Others believe this report demonstrates the need for boosting Social Security's benefits and strengthening the program’s fiscal solvency by requiring millionaires to pay their fair share into the program.

That's why I asked our readers the following question in the last issue of Benefits Watch:

Which is a greater priority to you: Tackling the federal deficit, even if it means cuts to Social Security, or boosting and strengthening Social Security?

The results from our recent poll are fascinating, but they're only available to National Committee members! Join the National Committee today and we'll immediately give you the results of this important poll.

Did you know that a team of experts in the field of Social Security policy is available to answer your questions about benefits? For 37 years, the National Committee has been helping thousands of our members and supporters with a broad range of concerns on Social Security.

Whether you're currently retired or approaching retirement, the National Committee's "Ask Us" section can help answer your questions about Social Security. You can either search our archives for valuable advice on a broad range of concerns at www.ncpssm.org/ask-us-recent/ or email your question to [email protected].

This week's question is: I turned 65 and my Social Security check was reduced $144.60 for Medicare coverage. Will my next COLA increase be based on the amount of money I was receiving prior to the Medicare reduction or the amount after the reduction?

Click here to read the answer.

The Cash Advance Plan for Social Security (May 12, 2020, WSBA, Audio clip with Max Richtman)

How Social Security Keeps Retirement Possible (May 18, 2020, WTPL, Audio clip with Max Richtman)

Column: Republicans seek to exploit COVID-19 crisis to cut Social Security benefits (May 11, 2020, Los Angeles Times, Michael Hiltzik)

YES, THE GOVERNMENT CAN CONTROL THE COST OF A CORONAVIRUS VACCINE (May 7, 2020, Newsweek, Ady Barkan)

By Overturning The ACA, The Supreme Court Would Cut Taxes Substantially For High-Income Households (May 12, 2020, Forbes, Howard Gleckman)