Social Security Reveals a Cost-of-Living Boost—Here’s What You Can Expect

By Owen

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Social Security Reveals a Cost-of-Living Boost—Here's What You Can Expect

You can get many Social Security benefits at any age, but the income from Social Security is what most Americans really depend on.

This year, almost 68 million Americans, mostly retirees, will get this important monthly benefit. This extra money is very important for people who don’t have a steady paycheck, especially those aged 65 and up. In this age group, 42% of women and 37% of men get at least half of their income from Social Security.

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How Social Security’s Cost-of-Living Increase Impacts Retirees

Even though they get Social Security checks, retired adults are having a harder time paying their bills because of years of inflation. Based on information gathered by The Senior List, the typical retiree spends around $2,984 each month.

This is about $1,300 more than what most people get from Social Security. So it’s not a surprise that 43% of retired people are more worried about money now than they were before they retired.

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Amie Clark, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Senior List, brings up some alarming numbers:

  • More than half of retirees feel like they’re living month to month.
  • Over 25% frequently stress about affording basic necessities.

These insights show that retirees are facing more and more financial problems, which is why they need to carefully manage their money and make plans for the future.

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Social Security Reveals a Cost-of-Living Boost—Here's What You Can Expect
Source (Google.com)

The news is great for retirees! A rise in the cost of living has been announced by the Social Security Administration. But how much more will you get from Social Security, and will it make a big difference in how much you spend in retirement? We talked to professionals in Social Security, retirement, and money to get the information you need.

Understanding the Social Security Cost-of-Living Increase

The cost-of-living increase is exactly what it sounds like: rising prices for basic goods and services are being taken into account by changes to Social Security payments. In the big picture of Social Security, this is a fairly new development.

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The National Association of Social Security Analysts has certified Kevin Walton as a registered Social Security analyst. He says, “The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, was set up by Congress as part of the 1972 Social Security Amendments.” Automatic COLAs every year started in 1975. Before this, benefits could only be raised by special laws passed by Congress.

The COLA has given beneficiaries predictable annual increases since the beginning. Stephen Kates, a certified financial planner and principal financial analyst for Retire Guide, says, “The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is an annual increase that is applied to all beneficiaries’ benefits. It is calculated by looking at how the consumer price index has changed over the past year.”

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Read Also :- Millions of citizens will receive a payment of up to $4,873 from Social Security in November

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Disclaimer- We are committed to fair and transparent journalism. Our Journalists verify all details before publishing any news. For any issues with our content, please contact us via email. 

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