AARP, the seniors-advocacy group, called on Congress this week to extend the hold-harmless provision to all Medicare beneficiaries, while budget-deficit hawks have warned against allowing the costs of any changes to increase deficits. Certainly, no American who has worked hard and earned their Social Security benefits should live in fear of seeing their benefits eroded.
Advertisement
As per law, CPOLA is based on the government measure of inflation.
“Everything else goes up, why not social security”, Howell asked.
There will be no Social Security cost of living adjustment, or COLA, in 2016, the agency has announced, leaving the benefits of almost 65 million people the same next year as they were this year. The other 30 percent aren’t protected and will assume the burden for the increase. About 70 million people on social security and other benefit programs will be affected. “Cost of living adjustments are vital to help seniors, disabled veterans, and Supplemental Security Income recipients keep up with the rising prices of medical care, prescription drugs, food and housing”.
By law, the annual cost-of-living adjustment – or COLA – is based on a government measure of inflation. There also were no Social Security COLAs in 2010 and 2011, and the hold-harmless provision raised the lowest Part B premium from $96.40 a month in 2009 to $110.50 in 2010 and $115.40 in 2011. “Have you checked the prices of meat lately?”
On average, a retired worker in 2016 will receive $1,341 a month, an amount unchanged from this year given the lack of inflation, according to the agency.
There were substantial spikes in Medicare Part B premiums for a few seniors the last time Social Security benefits were kept flat, too. Premiums for the 10 most popular Medicare Part D plans – which cover 80 percent of enrollees – will increase by an average of 8 percent next year.
With the exception of high income earners, those people seeing a spike in their Medicare premium don’t get Social Security at all or didn’t have any deductions for Medicare Part B previous year.
The CPI-W numbers for September were released Thursday.
But unprotected Medicare beneficiaries could face up to a 52 percent increase in their monthly Medicare premiums next year, from about $104 to $159, according to government projections. Not counting gasoline, prices are up 1.9 percent during that time. Inflation has been so low that economists now say that there is very less chance of it to increase in the benefits.
However, costs in South Florida have risen more than the national rate – even with plummeting prices at the pump.
For many like Howell, he said Thursday’s announcement was disappointing.
Advertisement
“[People] will be able to purchase as much stuff in 2016 as they did in 2015”, with the same amount of money, said Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
