Scant 1.6% COLA next year [link removed] SIGN Our Urgent Petition for a
FAIR COLA Now! [link removed] DearJohn, Next year's scant 1.6% Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) is a huge disappointment for seniors. The paltry new COLA will yield a $24 per month increase for the average beneficiary. With Medicare Part B premiums predicted to rise by about $8 next year, the net COLA for most seniors will be only $16 per month. The new COLA inches up the average monthly retirement benefit to $1,503 — a mere $288 yearly raise for seniors living on fixed incomes.
<html>
<head>
<title></title>
</head>
<body>That's why I’m asking you to <a alt="Click Here to Sign Our Petition" href="[link removed]" name="petition_dc" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #004D96; text-align: left;" title="Click Here to Sign Our Petition" ><strong><u>sign our Urgent Petition to Congress today</u></strong></a>, putting pressure on Congress to act <em>immediately</em> to pass the <a alt="Click Here to Learn More" href="[link removed]" name="fair_cola_bill" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #004D96; text-align: left;" title="Click Here to Learn More" ><strong><u>"Fair COLA for Seniors Act (H.R. 1553),"</u></strong></a> introduced by U.S. Representative John Garamendi (CA-03). This important bill would use the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) for the purpose of determining the Social Security COLA. The CPI-E reflects the spending priorities of seniors, including health care, as opposed to the current formula based on younger urban wage earners' expenses.
</body></html>
It's ironic that as billionaires and big corporations continue to profit from the $1.5 trillion in Trump/GOP tax cuts, America's seniors are asked to get by with a 1.6% COLA which amounts to a meager $24 monthly raise. Meanwhile, health care costs are forecasted to rise by about 6% in 2020 alone. The prices of the most commonly prescribed drugs for seniors on Medicare rose ten times the rate of inflation from 2013-2018. This demonstrates the complete failure of the current COLA formula to deliver a fair COLA that accurately measures seniors' real expenses, including higher out-of-pocket health care costs and housing expenses.
The health and financial security of millions of Americans depends on getting a <strong>fair and accurate COLA</strong> next year and <em>every year</em>. Bottom line: We need to tell that seniors deserve a COLA raise and relief on their wallets! So please help us get the <strong>"Fair COLA for Seniors Act"</strong> over the finish line in Congress by <a alt="Click Here to Sign Our Petition" href="[link removed]" name="petition_dc" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #004D96; text-align: left;" title="Click Here to Sign Our Petition" ><strong><u>signing our Urgent Petition to Congress today!</u></strong></a> Sincerely, Max Richtman
President & CEO [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] Member contributions to the National Committee, a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization, are not tax-deductible.
Copyright© 2019 by the National Committee
111 K Street, NE, Suite 700 | Washington, DC 20002
www.ncpssm.org [link removed] | 1-800-966-1935
View this email in a browser [link removed] | Click here to unsubscribe [link removed]
Privacy Policy [link removed] | Disclosure Statement [link removed] | Click here to donate [link removed]
