A large number of US retirees rely on Social Security for financial support. The social security administration states that nearly 1 in 2 households with someone aged 65 or older rely on social security as their single source or at least half of their income. Seniors who do not receive any form of assistance from the government would go through very tough times.
Role of COLA in Maintaining Purchasing Power
Retirees should get cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) annually to help them keep up with increased living costs. Under this program, benefits are adjusted monthly using price changes in the third quarter of the previous year. Analysts expect that next year's increase in social security checks will be 2.57% after considering May's consumer price index (CPI).
It may enhance purchasing power of benefits and provide more financial stability for retirees as well as their families, although it is less than last year's adjustment. Although this is below this year's COLA, which equals 3.20%, it may have advantages for those retired persons receiving it.
Retirees who began receiving benefits in 2000 have experienced their cost of living rising significantly faster than their monthly checks. The Senior Citizens League estimates that they have lost approximately 36% of their purchasing power, a situation worsened by recent years of high inflation.
Inflation's Impact on Social Security
High inflation tends to reduce value of social security benefits that can be manifest in high COLAs. Prices increases have caused a lot of damage on the purchasing power for those people who opted to start withdrawing their pensions since 2000. SSA uses past inflation numbers to calculate COLAs which makes seniors suffer during period when there is higher inflation rate. Conversely, low and stable inflation helps maintain benefits' purchasing power.
Tax Implications
Increasingly larger COLAs exposes more Social Security beneficiaries to tax liability. It entails fifty percent SS benefit plus adjusted gross income and non-taxable interest income combined. As benefits rise, more seniors may face higher taxes as thresholds have remained unchanged over three decades making it worse.
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