Social Security 2024 COLA, a crucial safety net for countless retirees, faces an ongoing challenge in keeping up with the cost of living. The annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) is under scrutiny, as many argue it falls short of effectively safeguarding seniors’ purchasing power from inflation.
Social Security 2024 COLA Boost Falls Short of Retirees’ Expectations – Here’s Why (Photo: Norman Transcript)
How Proposed COLA Changes Could Impact Seniors
According to the report published by The Montley Fool, in October 19, 2023, in response to Social Security 2024 COLA concern, a group of Washington lawmakers has proposed changes to the COLA calculation, offering a potential solution. It explores into the proposed revisions and what they mean for retirees. The current Social Security 2024 COLA calculation is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which primarily reflects the spending habits of working-age individuals.
However, this method doesn’t align with the financial needs of older retirees, who tend to allocate their funds differently. It’s estimated that this approach underestimates inflation for seniors by about 0.2 percentage points annually. To address this issue, lawmakers such as Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, along with Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Val Hoyle, introduced the Social Security Expansion Act, aiming to modify the Social Security 2024 COLA calculation.
The proposed changes of Social Security 2024 COLAÂ would substitute the CPI-W with the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) starting in 2026. The CPI-E is tailored to the spending patterns of those aged 62 and older, placing a greater emphasis on categories vital to seniors, such as housing and medical care.
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Comparing the Impact on Benefits
In a data released by CNBC news, in 2024, Social Security beneficiaries are set to receive a 3.2% COLA, a smaller increase than the previous year but higher than the 10-year average. However, had the CPI-E been used instead of the CPI-W, the increase would have been 4.0%. A decade-long comparison between the two indices shows that the cumulative COLA from the CPI-E was 32.7%, slightly higher than the cumulative Social Security 2024 COLA from the CPI-W, which stood at 30.8%.
While the immediate difference may seem modest, the extra income, amounting to a few hundred dollars annually, can hold significant value for retirees, especially in certain financial situations.
Social Security 2024 COLA could mark a turning point in the ongoing debate about Social Security benefits. The proposed shift from the CPI-W to the CPI-E offers a potential solution to better protect seniors from inflation’s impact. While the bill faces challenges on its path to approval, it has sparked essential discussions about the need for more accurate Social Security 2024 COLA calculations and their impact on retirees’ financial security.
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