Yet Another Reason Why We Need a New Social Security COLA Calculator
Social Security provides for an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to help ensure benefits keep up with inflation. This year’s COLA is 2.8 percent. Early predictions are that the 2027 COLA could be over 4 percent. Regardless, an article by 24/7 Wall St. says that if the Social Security trust fund runs dry in 2032 as expected, any of those gains will be wiped out.
Experts say Social Security beneficiaries could see a 22 percent across-the-board cut. That would erase “roughly eight years of typical COLA gains in a single stroke.”
That’s not surprising considering that, for years now, COLAs have not kept up with senior spending. The big problem is how COLAs are calculated. The current one does not adequately account for the biggest expenses seniors face, which are largely healthcare and housing.
Senior advocates, including The Seniors Trust, believe the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) should be used to calculate the COLA instead of the current Consumer Price Index for Wage Earners (CPI-W). The CPI-E index shows how inflation actually impacts the typical retiree based on seniors’ spending habits.
Join Our Efforts
We are calling on Congress to enact the Social Security Expansion Act. One of its main points calls for adopting the CPI-E as the COLA calculator, better ensuring that Social Security benefits keep pace with inflation.
Additionally, this landmark piece of legislation will also extend the solvency of the Social Security trust fund through 2096, expand Social Security benefits by about $200 a month for current and new beneficiaries, require millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share into Social Security by lifting the wage cap, and improve the Special Minimum Benefit for Social Security recipients which would help low-income workers stay out of poverty.
Is this something you can get on board with? Join us in urging lawmakers to enact the Social Security Expansion Act. You can show your support by signing our petition.
