THAT would be the highest in FOURTY Years…..
One Good thing from the Inflationary US Economy….
But the part B Medicare is subtracted from COLA…..
Hmmmm?
More than 70 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits can expect an inflation adjustment to their monthly checks next year that will be the largest in four decades.
Government inflation figures for August, released on Tuesday, point to a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, known as the COLA, of 8.7 percent, according to an estimate by a nonpartisan group that lobbies for seniors. The Social Security Administration will announce the final figure on Oct. 13, after the release of September inflation data.
The 8.7 percent estimate by the group, the Senior Citizens League, is lower than the league’s prediction last month of 9.6 percent. The revision reflects the recent slight cooling of inflation to 8.3 percent. But if the league’s projection holds up, the COLA still would be the largest since 1981, when the inflation adjustment was 11.2 percent.
Rising Medicare premiums often take a significant bite out of COLAs; the premium for Part B (which covers outpatient services, like doctors’ visits) typically is deducted from Social Security benefits. Large increases in Part B can sharply reduce, or even eliminate, a COLA. But next year, most experts expect the standard Part B premium to rise very modestly, or even stay flat at the current $170.10 per month….
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The 2023 COLA will give a significant boost to more than 70 million Americans — a group that includes 52.3 million people over age 65, along with a broader group that includes survivors of beneficiaries and people receiving disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income, the program for very low-income people.
The COLA is calculated annually using a formula detailed in federal law. It uses one of the broadest government measures of inflation, known as the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or C.P.I.-W.….