2024 Social Security COLA Means Seniors Will Continue to Struggle

With the average price of milk and gas both hovering around $4 per gallon, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2024 won’t go too far. The Social Security Administration said recipients will see a 3.2 percent COLA increase next year. That’s far below this year’s record 8.7 percent COLA, reflecting the government’s efforts to rein in inflation.

The 3.2 percent COLA increase for 2024 equates to an average of about $50 more per month. You’ll learn exactly how much you will receive in December when the Social Security COLA notices are available in the Message Center of your my Social Security account.  Starting in January, America’s 66 million Social Security recipients will see their benefits boost.

While we are all thankful for the COLA, it could be more. The Seniors Trust supports the Social Security Expansion Act, which calls for using the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, or the CPI-E, to calculate the annual COLA, rather than the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or the CPI-W, currently used. The CPI-E specifically tracks the spending of households with people aged 62 and older. It places greater value on rising costs of expenses unique to seniors such as housing, healthcare and medicine. This would provide a much fairer cost-of-living adjustment for retirees.