Social Security to hand out first raises since '09

[Fuddnik]

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Social Security to hand out first raises since '09
Published: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 1:22 PM Updated: Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 1:24 PM
Associated Press business staff By Associated Press business staff


WASHINGTON -- Social Security recipients will get a raise in January -- their first increase in benefits since 2009. Experts project the increase will be about 3.5 percent, and on Wednesday, about 55 million beneficiaries will find out for sure.

The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is based on a measure of inflation that Congress adopted in the 1970s. Since then, it has resulted in annual increases averaging 4.2 percent.

There was no COLA in 2010 or 2011 because inflation was too low. That, however, has been small comfort to the millions of retirees and disabled people who have seen their retirement accounts dwindle and their home values drop during the economic downturn.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/10/social_security_to_hand_out_fi.html

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About friggin' time!

[MineralMan]

1. Good news.

At least for old farts like myself.

[Mojorabbit]

7. They are raising the medicare premium which will eat the raise. Sigh. nt

[sandyj999]

9. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[jwirr]

33. And if you happen to live in a rent subsidized housing they will up the

rent.

[MineralMan]

10. I haven't seen what the part B premiumm will be in 2012.

Do you know?

I suppose my supplemental will go up, but I don't know how much yet.

[Mojorabbit]

55. Someone emailed me an article on it a few weeks ago

Let me see if I can dig it up.

[midnight]

12. O boy.... Two steps forward and two steps back....

[emilyg]

14. Sigh - bummer.

[totodeinhere]

17. I know what you mean, but if not for this cost of living raise it would be even worse. n/t

[RKP5637]

21. One hand gives it, the other hand takes it ... Oh well, the interest on

CDs is so great ...
:sarcasm:

[Irishonly]

39. I received an explanation of benefits from our 'supplemental'

Our costs are going up. It will cost more for everything and some benefits for glasses, etc are being cut a lot. Logic tells me to check out other insurances but my doctors have brought me through cancer, heart attacks and my husband's shattered hip. Whether they raise premiums or not it will cost us more.

[SteveM]

18. YIPPEE! I may get nearly $800/mo. next year! nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. My Mom an certainly use this.

She has been on the bubble for several years now. :(

[DesertFlower]

3. great news. nt

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[DJ13]

5. Good news, but still far lower than it should be

At 3.5%, thats just over 1% inflation per year over the period when no COLA's were given.

We've certainly had higher than 1% inflation per year the last 3 years.

[RKP5637]

22. If one looks at the prices here inflation must be 10% plus ... just keeping up with

the cost of food is no small feat in itself.

[meow2u3]

40. The cost of food is deliberately omitted from the rate of inflation

I wonder why, Goldman Sucks.

[Sirveri]

43. no it is not. The BLS routinely sends workers into the grocery markets.

Per the CPI report from the BLS food has increased over a 12 month period ending for Aug by 4.6%, with food at home increasing by 6.0% and food away from home increasing by 2.7%. The Food AND Beverages category increased by 4.4% (food being a subset of that category).

Weighting, unadjusted indexes (Jul11, Aug11), unadjusted percent change (Aug10, Jul11) adjust % change (May-Jun, Jun-Jul, Jul-Aug)
Cereals and bakery products ............................................... 1.090 260.921 262.970 5.3 .8 .6 -.1 1.1
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs .............................................. 1.813 224.394 225.651 8.0 .6 -.4 .5 .4
Dairy and related products
1
................................................ .839 214.781 216.720 9.1 .9 .5 1.2 .9
Fruits and vegetables ........................................................... 1.152 282.018 282.579 6.3 .2 -.3 1.2 .6
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials ................ .926 167.802 168.268 4.0 .3 .3 .9 -.2
Other food at home .............................................................. 1.996 198.152 200.054 4.2 1.0 .5 .3 .8
Sugar and sweets
1
............................................................ .297 207.321 209.780 4.7 1.2 1.2 -.2 1.2
Fats and oils ....................................................................... .232 221.325 223.509 10.8 1.0 1.0 .5 .9
Other foods ........................................................................ 1.466 210.202 212.114 3.0 .9 .3 .4 .7
Other miscellaneous foods
1 2
......................................... .432 124.418 125.193 2.8 .6 .3 .6 .6

[Sirveri]

42. It's calculated using BLS numbers. In 2010 CPI was lower than in 2008.

Hence the reason for a lack of COLA.
Aug 2008: 214.986
Aug 2009: 210.878
Aug 2010: 213.926
Aug 2011: 223.010

The COLA is calculated using an average of a three month time period. Aug is a 4.07% increase, Jul was 3.9%, Jun was 3.9%, yielding an average of approximately 3.96%. My guess is that they're using adjusted numbers, or they have shifted from CPI-W to a different index.

[DJ13]

45. 2010 was higher than 2009

I dont believe the original intent of COLA's was to compare beyond the prior year, otherwise there would have been periods in the past without a COLA, but we know that never happened.

[Sirveri]

47. This is true, but it was lower than 2008, so it doesn't qualify.

The rule is basically that it has to be higher than the previous two years.

[Sirveri]

48. Also the reason it never happened was that CPI has never done what it did in 08 before.

The COLA automatic adjustment rule took place in the 80's, this is the first time that little rule would ever have taken effect.

[pinqy]

58. No we haven't.

The COLA is based on change of the 3rd quarter average of the CPI-W since the last time a COLA increase was given. The 3Q average for 2008 was 215.168. The 3Q avg in 2009 was 210.742 a change of -2.1% No COLA increase. The 3Q avg for 2010 was 213.902 ...still 0.6% lower than 2008. 3Q avg for 2011 was 222.977 which is 3.6% higher than 2008.

[asjr]

6. I will gladly take it. I just hope they

do not raise the premium we pay each month for Medicare. That ususally happens.

[nichomachus]

8. I am betting it will happen

[RebelOne]

15. I think that is why the Social Security COLA is going to happen,

because a raise in our Medicare is going to happen, so it will even out. No real raise there.

[Kingofalldems]

11. K and R for good news

[LuvNewcastle]

13. Awesome!

:woohoo:

[William769]

16. It's about fucking time!

Recommended.

[hang a left]

19. "There was no COLA in 2010 or 2011 because inflation was too low"

HA! I guess if you don't count food or gasoline or utilities or the friggin air you breath.

[Sirveri]

44. In 2008 during the COLA time period there was a price spike in oil prices.

This caused an inflation of CPI during the time period, oil subsequently fell by over 100$/bbl. While there was an increase in inflation from 2009 to 2010 it was not enough to exceed the high point in 2008, and hence a COLA was not issued, per the algorithm that was established.

[aquart]

20. Inflation was too low, my ass.

What a bloody lie.

[RKP5637]

23. Yep, it's another ruse, how they calculate it ... We need actual inflation calcs, like

actual unemployment calcs. It's all a game of playing the numbers. I used to do that in my corp. life all the time. Take any set of numbers and calc. it to show whatever one wants.

[MISSDem]

24. If social security is already in trouble won't this exacerbate

the problem? I read that the disability portion of SS was due to run out of funding in a couple of years. I don't know if this is good or not. Most people who work are lucky to get a 2% raise if they get one at all. Just sayin'.

[ieoeja]

25. By conservative estimates Social Security is fully funded for the next 70 years or so.

I wouldn't exactly call that "in trouble".

[MISSDem]

27. then why is the current administration saying

that they can go along with "cuts" in the "entitlements"?

[Lorien]

51. Because they work for the 1%

They want what the elite wants.

[ieoeja]

54. In my opinion after the last two+ years, Obama is a complete dunce where economy is concerned.

I'm not going to accuse him of siding with Wall Street, etc. He said during a presidential debate against McCain that economics was not his strong suit. So he hired a bunch of financial experts. What he and a lot of naive people out there fail to realize is that financial experts are the greediest, sleaziest fuckers in the world.

I know. I worked at a large bank. They honestly believed that greedy people did a better job than non-greedy people. I was *not* a popular person on that job. To give an example:


They had a normal HR algorithim for determining your annual raise. This was then multiplied by the number of people reporting up the branch to you. If a bottom level manager was unethical, s/he would hire excess people to multiply his annual raise. S/he could only get away with that if their boss was also unethical. This would only work if everyone from bottom to top was in on it.

And that is exactly what everyone did. My boss spent a considerable amount of time sabotaging my work, hiding work from me and just plain trying to fire me because I was getting too much work done too fast for our customers. This made it difficult for him to hire more employees. It was three years of fucking hell working for these pieces of shit before I finally gave up.

At one time, noting that I was not all that busy, another manager brought me aboard his team for those down periods. I spent two days experimenting with the new system. Having figured out what their major flaw was, I cranked out three customer fixes on the third day. Everyone was doing one every two or three weeks. On the 4th day, my userid was deleted and I was no longer allowed on that system.

A friend of mine was a bankster. He is currently the president of his local Chamber of Commerce. And he is the only friend I have who I would not trust to do anything where money is concerned. He openly mocks people who are stupid enough to trust him with money. He is a banker. That is how they are.

People who have never been behind the scenes with these folks believe that bankers are the most trustworthy people in the world where money is concerned. They have to be, right? We do trust them with our money after all.

As Obama never worked in that environment, I have come to believe that he is one of the vast majority who believe in the fairy tale of the trustworthy banker.

[Hoyt]

28. I gotta join you in "just sayin." Lots of people are hurting out there.

Lots of people are worried whether social security will even exist decades down the road.

I'm not saying seniors don't deserve it, but I know very few people who have gotten a pay raise in recent years -- assuming they even have a full-time job. I'm old enough to draw SS right now, but won't until I have to (with the economy the way it is, that may not be long). An improved economy will be better for all of us. Hope we get some tax increases for those who profited from the economy, and the economy improves for everyone -- or we'll be looking at big negative "Cola" adjustments.

Those rosy projections on time left before SS Trust Fund evaporates are based upon a decent economy.

I'd suggest being glad for the 3.5% right now and hope for better days ahead.

Finally, screw the GOPers who are impeding all efforts to improve things.

[malthaussen]

26. Time for Leonard Cohen

... to give us a rousing chorus of "Halleluja!"

-- Mal

[Historic NY]

29. I won't complain...I got a cola on my pension in April, but my school tax increae ate that up...

I guess its keeping up. I'm better off than most.

[Blue_In_AK]

30. It doesn't make up for my Medicare premium

that kicked in this year, but it'll help.

[Lucretius]

31. not a penny will end up in our pockets

There is a "hold harmless" clause that prohibits Social Security payments from declining from one year to the next. So, the absence of a COLA in 2009 and 2010 meant that there could be no increase in Part B premiums for existing beneficiaries. This premium has thus been frozen at $96.40 a month for about 75 percent of beneficiaries.

The entire cola will go to medicare, wait and watch. They will increase the initial out-of-pocket annual cost and the monthly fee. All money will be vacuumed up to the boards of directors in the health care succubus.

[madrchsod]

32. far out.. just in time to help cover my medicare costs!

[wryter2000]

34. "Hand out"????

There's your "librul" media for you. As if people are getting free money.

I'm glad for the raise, but just look at that horrid language. Can't you hear Eric Cantor? "And this year, Social Security is making their handouts even larger."

[durablend]

57. Yup, I thought the same thing

"DAM LIBRULS GIVIN AWAY MORE OF MY HARD EARNED TAX MONEY!"

[Donnachaidh]

35. my rent went up 10% over the years we didn't get a raise

3.5%. Meh. :shrug:

[avaistheone1]

36. It's about time.

Glad to hear it.

k&r

:kick:

[JDPriestly]

37. Good news! It isn't much, but it will help a lot.

[99th_Monkey]

38. Good news for sure, but the heading is a little misleading, in that this is not a "hand out"

a minor point for sure, but cringed when I saw it and couldn't resist commenting.

[Akoto]

41. Great! Will SSI receive this, too?

I am on SSI (as opposed to SSDI) because I became disabled at a young age, and lacked the work credits for "full" disability.

It would certainly be helpful to receive a little more assistance.

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. Here is list of who will get the raise, as of today, Wed announcement:

Federal retirees will receive in January the first inflation adjustment to their annuity benefits since 2009, an increase of 3.6 percent for most, following the announcement Wednesday of Consumer Price Index figures through September.

The COLA also will be paid in Social Security and military retirement benefits, which like civil service annuities have been frozen for two years due to a period of deflation that followed the calculation of the January 2009 payout.

Those who retired under the Civil Service Retirement System will receive the full adjustment while those who retired under the Federal Employees Retirement System and who are eligible for COLAs will receive 1 percentage point less. The FERS system generally doesn’t pay inflation adjustments until age 62 except to disability retirees, survivor beneficiaries and those subject to mandatory early retirement such as law enforcement officers.
as mentioned here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/federal-retirees-to-get-cola-increase/2011/10/19/gIQAPdkRxL_blog.html

About 8 million people who receive Supplemental Security Income will also receive the 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, meaning the announcement will affect about one in five U.S. residents.
as mentioned here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/federal-retirees-to-get-cola-increase/2011/10/19/gIQAPdkRxL_blog.html

[Odin2005]

46. No inflation my ass. I'm on SSI and the inflation in food prices is anger-inducing.

[Little Tich]

49. Good.

[mvd]

50. Finally! Good news. But, I hope the Medicare increases..

don't eat into it too much.

[aquart]

52. Hah! Chomp chomp. All gone.

[lovuian]

53. its about time Wall street got their raise every year

good for the people