It is my understanding that we won’t be getting a Cost Of Living Adjustment this year and maybe 2011 also. There has been a bill proposed:
"Seniors and members of Congress proposed emergency Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) legislation to compensate for Social Security cuts this year.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) met with seniors from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security Wednesday morning to discuss their proposal that would guarantee Social Security recipients a one-time payment of $250. The proposal, the “Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act,” would substitute the COLA seniors have received in previous years."
In your humble opinions, will this bill pass? God knows most seniors need it!
Seniors don’t need it. Cost of living adjustments are designed to reflect rising costs. Since last year, costs have not risen, thanks to the slowing economy.
In fact, the cost of living adjustment for 2009, which took effect in January, was 5.9%, because gasoline prices spiked in 2008 and the COLA for the next calendar year is calculated based on the CPI and June and July.
So Social Security retirement recipients are already getting more than they should. Seniors don’t “need” a $250 handout any more than anybody else does. It’s not like many are first-time homebuyers who lost a ton of equity in the housing market.
I’m a Federal retiree and I’m not getting a COLA either, since my pension is tied to the CPI just like Social Security. And I just read that my health insurance (also federal) is expected to go up 8.8% so I’ll be having a net decrease in my income. No word that there are any plans for any “emergency regulation” to adjust for this, either.
Yeah, and it’s not like seniors can’t go out and find a job.
You don’t have to be a first-time homebuyer to have lost equity.
I was looking forward to the COLA to help offset the raise in the Medicare Part B premium. It’s hard to believe that this is the first year since what, 1975 (?), that the CPI didn’t go up. It sure seems like I’m paying more for everything.
I don’t have any numbers, but it’s not unusual for retirees to buy and sell. They downsize, or they relocate to be closer to kids and grandkids, or move to a warmer climate.
Many employers (especially where there are unions) tie raises to the COLA.
And let’s not forget seniors whose investments lost value.
What puts us in a different, more leaky boat is that we can’t compete in the job market. For every retired CEO or skilled carpenter who has something to offer (and who’s healthy enough to work), there’s a widow who never worked except as a waitress or a secretary (using a typewriter).
See, that’s what I don’t get. If the cost of living hasn’t increased, why does it seem like everything costs more? Yeah, gas is lower than last year, but landlords are still raising rents and utility costs are increasing as well. Somehow the county managed to raise my property taxes while lowering the assessed value of my property. (I still haven’t figured that out.) The only thing I’m paying less for is propane, and that’s because there’s competition. Folks who buy heat from one source don’t have a choice, and Mid-American and other utility companies continue to raise their rates. I expect the same is true in the rest of the country.
My medical clinic hasn’t lowered their fees and neither has the phone company or the people I get my TV signal from. Prices for staples like milk, bread, butter, sugar haven’t decreased, and some things (like coffee) are way up. Not to mention luxuries – a year ago a four-pack of Frappucino was $3.99. Now it’s $6.99. Dammit.
But I can’t argue the rule. If the rule says adjustments are tied to the CPI, then that’s the rule. That doesn’t mean I can’t bitch about it.
I was recently notified that the cost of my water will be going up next month. Right after I signed up for satellite TV this year the company raised its rates (since I’m locked in for 12 months I won’t be paying the higher rate until next year, but still…). As I mentioned before, my health insurance rates are going up in January (a lot more than 5.9%, too). The decrease in gas prices only affects me indirectly, since I don’t drive. I’m glad I now own instead of rent, otherwise I’d probably be getting a rent increase. Although that reminds me that the cost of my homeowner’s insurance went up this year.
It’s your imagination, unless you smoke, in which case it’s not everything.
If your landlord is raising your rent, move. Unless you live in Manhattan or somewhere like that there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to find a better deal right now.
We own the house. Three of my kids rent. Two of them (in Seattle) moved to cheaper apartments this year after their landlords raised their rent. And one of those just found out he’s being laid off on 12/31, from a good job with the county.
Off the subject of SS and the COLA, but moving isn’t always a reasonable option, especially if you live paycheck to paycheck. Coming up with first/last/security/damage deposits on a new place keeps a lot of people stuck.
We were kind of discussing this in class the other day. I really don’t know exactly how the Social Security system works, but one thing my professor said is that stalling on the COLA is one way that the government attempts to compensate for the Social Security program long-term funding issues.
So maybe this is less about apathy and more about trying to make Social Security work as a long-term social program. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable could elaborate.
The formula for calculating the Social Security COLA is, as has been pointed out, directly linked to the CPI which, to the best of my knowledge, is based on the prices of selected goods and services (similar to the way the Dow-Jones Average is based on the price of certain stocks). The government has no direct control over the CPI, and can’t change the formula used to calculate either it or the COLA in any given year.
In other words, your professor is talking out of his ass.
