This week’s report on consumer prices points to a large cost-of-living adjustment to Social Security benefits next year.
Based on the August consumer price index reported Tuesday, Mary Johnson, Social Security analyst for the Senior Citizens League, projects Social Security benefits could increase by 8.7% next year.
A couple of months ago, Johnson was projecting a double-digit COLA of 10.5% for 2023, but inflationary pressures have subsided since then.
“A COLA of 8.7% is extremely rare and would be the highest ever received by most Social Security beneficiaries alive today,” Johnson said in a statement.
She calculated that an 8.7% COLA would boost the average retiree benefit of $1,656 by $144.10.
The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the official cost-of-living adjustment for next year on Oct. 13, after the government releases the September consumer price increase. The COLA is based on the increase in the average CPI for the third quarter — July, August and September — over the previous year’s third quarter.
This year, Social Security benefits rose by 5.9% for more than 65 million recipients.
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