Social Security beneficiaries could see a $1,900 increase next year

of Americans on Social Security could see a significant increase in annual cost-of-living adjustments next year, with experts saying the typical beneficiary could receive an additional $1,900 in 2023 to keep up with inflation. 

With inflation projected to rise by 5.9% in 2022, lagging behind the highest inflation rate in 40 years, many older I am struggling. Consumer prices cooled in July on lower gasoline prices, but inflation remained high, up 8.5% year-on-year.

The Social Security Administration bases its annual COLA adjustments on his July, August, and September inflation data, with the agency announcing his official increases in mid-October. . With data available for one of those three months, seniors could grow by an average of 9.6% per month, according to the Senior Citizens League. If inflation continues to ease, seniors can finally take a break in her 2023 to close the benefit gap many are currently experiencing.

Based on an average monthly profit of $1,656 in 2022, a 9.6% boost equates to approximately $159 monthly profit and $1,900 annual profit. said the bipartisan group. 

"Dealing with the continuing shortfall in benefits Social Security beneficiaries are experiencing in her 2022 as inflation outstrips her COLA of 5.9% Her COLA will be highly coveted because of that," an email from a Senior Citizens League Medicare Policy Analyst. 

The Social Security Administration adjusts annual benefits based on a slightly different indicator, the urban wage earner and clerical worker consumer price index (CPI-W). . purchased by workers. 

CPI-W he rose 9.1 percent in July, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

$58/month shortfall

Admittedly, we still have two months of data and the Social Security COLA could be higher or lower depending on the trajectory of inflation August and September. Johnson estimates the COLA range from a low of 9.3% to a high of 10.1%, with 9.6% being the most likely, given the latest data, he said.

The average monthly benefit this year is about $1,656, but for a typical senior, he's about $58 a month short, Johnson said. 

That could be why more seniors are turning to government assistance programs, she added. In 2021, about 37% of seniors surveyed by the group will receive help from programs for low-income people, she said. Before the pandemic hit, about 16% of older people were receiving need-based assistance, according to Census data. 

"This is because, as the pandemic and inflation continue to drive bond prices higher, the number of adults turning to these programs to supplement their Social Security and Medicare benefits has significantly increased. It suggests an increase," Johnson said. she understands

Medicare: How much?

This year many seniors were criticized when their 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment failed to keep up with inflation, and then doctors A 14.5% increase in Medicare Part B premiums, which covers doctor's visits and outpatients, puts us in trouble again. care, and some medicine.

Medicare costs skyrocketed to cover the expensive and controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm. did. But Medicare will limit the use of Aduhelm and say manufacturers will lower the price of the drug. 

With these developments, Part B premiums may not increase significantly in 2023, Mr Johnson said.