Joe St. George
The Future Of U.S. Social Security
The Old-Age & Survivors Insurance Trust Fund holds $2.8 trillion in reserves, mostly from taxes you pay.
LEARN MOREPosted: 12:13 p.m. EDT Oct 3, 2022
We don't need to tell you that inflation is continuing; you feel it every time you go shopping. Unfortunately, some economists predict inflation won't be where it usually is until 2024.
But that doesn't mean help isn't on the way for some Americans.
COST-OF-LIVING RAISES
Cost-of-living adjustments may sound dry, but if you are an older American on Social Security, they are important.
Those adjustments are the increases in pay Americans on Social Security get each year.
The adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation and has been at 40-year highs for most of the year.
Right now, the expectation is the adjustment in 2023 will be 8.7%. That's according to the Senior Citizens League.
How much is that? If you get a $1,000 check every month, that's $87 more. Right now, it's just an estimate of the increase.
The October consumer price index will be a key factor in determining the exact amount. That report is expected Oct. 13.
Of course, many older Americans have cost-of-living adjustments wiped out by Medicare increases each year. However, there may be some relief on that front too.
President Joe Biden announced last week that Medicare Part B premiums would go down next year for the first time in over a decade.
By Joe St. George, Scripps National Desk.
