WASHINGTON (AP) – The ongoing government shutdown has delayed the release of annual reports. social security Cost-of-living adjustments for tens of millions of beneficiaries.
The release of the 2024 Social Security COLA, originally scheduled for Wednesday, will now be October 24. It will be announced in conjunction with the Consumer Price Index in September, but this has not yet been released.
The agency adjusts benefits annually based on inflation. Postponement of announcement is recent example As the government shutdown enters its third week, little progress has been made toward a resolution, explaining how it’s making it harder for people to plan their finances.
Forecasts from the Alliance on Aging and AARP expect cola It increased by about 2.7%. About 70.6 million Social Security benefits are available to people, including retirees, people with disabilities, and children.
Social Security Administration beneficiaries have expressed concern that next year’s increase won’t be enough to counter rising costs.
Sue Conard, a 75-year-old retired nurse and SSA recipient from La Crosse, Wisconsin, recently visited the Capitol with other retired members of the National Union of State, County, and Municipal Employees to lobby for meaningful progress toward obtaining health care protections and changes to Social Security benefits to end the shutdown.
He said he wants lawmakers to change the calculation of how COLAs are determined because the standard CPI measure, which includes a market basket of consumer goods and services, doesn’t take into account many of the costs typical of older Americans.
Speaking on the front steps of the Longworth House office building, Conard said: “The question of how COLA is determined is completely wrong because medical costs are not factored into CPI.”
Some lawmakers are proposing legislation that would force SSA to use a different metric called the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) to calculate cost-of-living increases that measure price changes based on seniors’ spending patterns on things like health care, food, and medicine.
The Democratic caucus is proposing a bill that would change the CPI calculation for COLA benefits to CPI-E. Last Congress, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) proposed legislation to change the COLA calculation, but the Senate Finance Committee did not consider it.
AARP CEO Miekia Minter-Jordan said COLA is “more than just a source of income; it is a lifeline of independence and dignity for tens of millions of older Americans.” But even with the adjusted COLA, the majority of Americans still face challenges covering basic expenses, she said.
Vanessa Fields, 70, a retired social worker and AFSCME member from Philadelphia, said she is paying about $1,000 a month for groceries, which is higher than usual. COLA hasn’t kept pace with rising costs, she said, adding, “If lawmakers don’t act, we’re going to be in a dire situation.”
The agency plans to begin notifying recipients of the new benefit amount in early December. A spokesperson for the Department of Social Security, who spoke to COLA on condition of anonymity, said that despite the expiry of the government’s current spending, retirement benefits and Supplemental Security Income benefits will be adjusted from January 1, 2026 without delay.
The delay in announcing the COLA comes as the nation’s social insurance program faces severe funding shortfalls in the coming years and the agency is experiencing significant staffing cuts.
Annual Report of the Social Security and Medicare Administrative Board Released in June The program’s trust fund will no longer be able to pay out the full benefits starting in 2034, rather than 2035, as estimated last year, the report said. If the trust fund is depleted, the government will only be able to pay out 81% of scheduled benefits.
Additionally, the agency laid off at least 7,000 of its 60,000 employees earlier this year, putting pressure on remaining employees to process claims and answer inquiries from a growing number of beneficiaries.
