Where Social Security COLA Has the Biggest Impact
The annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is supposed to help compensate for rising inflation. This year, retirees received an 8.7 percent COLA, which equates to an average increase of $140 per month. The problem is that’s an average nationwide and people living in metropolitan areas saw prices rise so much, this year’s benefits boost barely makes a dent.
According to Yahoo! Finance, the cost of living is already substantially higher in major cities such as New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC, so the COLA increase really doesn’t do much to offset prices. However, retirees living in smaller cities, such as Topeka, Kansas, Mobile, Alabama, or Decatur, Illinois, are seeing their additional funds stretch further. In these places the Social Security COLA is having a much greater impact.
The Seniors Trust is committed to improving the financial well-being of America’s retirees through passage of The Social Security Expansion Act. It will give retirees an immediate benefits increase of about $200 a month, a fair annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), increased minimum benefits, and this bill will ensure the long-term solvency of the Social Security program.
