No Social Security Cost of Living (COLA) for 2016

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

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There's not supposed to be any cost of living increase for social security for 2016, full article here.

July 27, 2015 – If you were counting on a few extra bucks in your Social Security check in 2016, you made a mistake. The opinion of the experts, including the trustees, is senior citizens will not see a cost-of-living (COLA) in 2016.

● “The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday released another data point that provides a glimpse into the potential cost-of-living increase for federal retirees in 2016, and it doesn’t bode well,” reports the Government Executive website.

● “Nearly 60 million Social Security recipients will probably not get a cost-of-living increase next year, according to projections in the 2015 Social Security and Medicare trustees reports, writes Eileen Ambrose in her AARP Blog.

"Social Security doesn't expect to pay any cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, to beneficiaries in 2016 because inflation hasn't been high enough to justify it,” notes Jennie L. Phipps in her Bankrate.com blog.

She points out that in the report issued by the Social Security Trustees last week that made it crystal clear they see no COLA in 2016. On page 114 they said, "...projections under the intermediate and high-cost assumptions do not have a cost-of-living adjustment for December 2015. Under all three sets of economic assumptions, the projections include annual cost-of-living adjustments in all future years after 2015."

● “Social Security recipients had better be ready to taste the un-COLA -- not the soft drink, but a likely zero Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits in 2016, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Phipps wrote in further explaining why seniors will get no COLA in 2016, “In 2015, Social Security recipients got a measly 1.7 percent raise -- and many complained about that. But next year is almost certainly going to be worse -- zero percent -- because the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, CPI-W, as calculated by the Department of Labor, has gone down since January.”

But all these prognosticators last week are far behind the Senior Citizens League, which said on June 2 –
● “The plunge in gasoline prices, in recent months, sent the consumer price index (CPI) into a nose dive. That deflation is expected to make a big dent in the Social Security income of 56 million people next year, according to new cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) estimates prepared for TSCL. As inflation data continues to come in, early projections indicate that the COLA for 2016 is likely to be zero.”

Government Executive points out “The average of the July, August and September 2015 consumer price numbers, along with the average figure from the third quarter of 2014, is used to calculate the 2016 COLA. The annual COLAs are based on the percentage increase (if any) in the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the current year over the average for the third quarter of the last year in which a COLA became effective. In this case, that is 2015 and 2014.
“If there’s no percentage increase, there’s no COLA.

“Retirees received a 1.7 percent COLA increase for 2015, a 1.5 percent boost for 2014, a 1.7 percent increase for 2013 and a 3.6 percent bump for 2012. The 2012 COLA increase was the first since October 2008 (which took effect in 2009).”
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I get both US SS, and a UK pension. I had no idea how the UK raises were calculated, so looked it up.

The basic State Pension increases every year by whichever is the highest:

  • earnings - the average percentage growth in wages (in Great Britain)
  • prices - the percentage growth in prices in the UK as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
 

Maybe inflation did not rise, but the overall cost of living has. I have seen increases in all of our utilities and food as well. Even though gasoline has dropped, most everything else has gone up. I think not giving a COLA increase is bad news for politicians looking to be re-elected. I wouldn't swear to it, but I think I read in an AARP magazine that 30,000,000 seniors are eligible to vote.
 
Ameriscot said:
I get both US SS, and a UK pension. I had no idea how the UK raises were calculated, so looked it up.

The basic State Pension increases every year by whichever is the highest:

  • earnings - the average percentage growth in wages (in Great Britain)
  • prices - the percentage growth in prices in the UK as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
Click to expand...


It is calculated on the inflation index in September the year
before you get an increase, usually 2% or 2.5%, about £3
per week.

One year things were a bit crazy and the increase was 5%,
but they have done something to make sure such a high
figure never happens again.

A friend in her 80s got a £3.50 increase in April this year, but
the Government in its efforts to reduce spending took it all
back from her benefits, so much for protecting the benefits
for the elderly.

Mike.
 
The SSA probably quietly decided to use the "Chained CPI"....which essentially says that when prices go up, consumers will find cheaper alternatives. For example, if beef prices go up, people will begin to buy less beef, and substitute chicken, etc. That's probably true in some instances, but I haven't seen any "bargains" in the past year...other than lower gas prices.

I'm waiting for October, when the insurance companies start releasing their rates and co-pays for health care in 2016. So far, the projected numbers are all over the place...from 8% on the low side, to 51% on the high side. I fully expect to see an 8 to 10% rise in premiums, and larger co-pays. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how the government "masks" those costs in the future.
 
oldman said:
Maybe inflation did not rise, but the overall cost of living has. I have seen increases in all of our utilities and food as well. Even though gasoline has dropped, most everything else has gone up. I think not giving a COLA increase is bad news for politicians looking to be re-elected. I wouldn't swear to it, but I think I read in an AARP magazine that 30,000,000 seniors are eligible to vote.
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I agree. This is a brainless thing to do in an election year.
 
The lower cost of gasoline is one of the reasons the government sees "no inflation", but medical, drug costs have skyrocketed. Seniors use less gas than most but more medical, but then that is ok with our fat, healthy, trough feeding politicians.
 
Bureau of Labor Statistics does not include food or fuel in their report, which is used to determine the SS COLA. Their figures are BOGUS.
 
Our car insurance (and we both have excellent driving records) and garbage bill have both went up. Does anyone else pay $98. every other month for garbage pick up?? We don't have a water or sewer bill because we have a well and septic tank.
 
Linda said:
Our car insurance (and we both have excellent driving records) and garbage bill have both went up. Does anyone else pay $98. every other month for garbage pick up?? We don't have a water or sewer bill because we have a well and septic tank.
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My neighbor pays $35 a Month..I use theirs and repay them by doing chores around their place..
 
The only senior that I know that doesn't drive is my wife and that is for medical reasons. We live in a 55+ community with 9,000 residents, very few don't drive.
 
Manatee said:
The only senior that I know that doesn't drive is my wife and that is for medical reasons. We live in a 55+ community with 9,000 residents, very few don't drive.
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I know some that don't drive, but most seniors I know, especially those who are retired drive a whole lot less than they did while working -- me included. My gasoline costs are way down, mostly because I'm not driving back and forth to work every day, and driving here and there during the day in the course of my work.
 
My auto insurance went up, my supplemental health insurance went up, my prescription co-pays went up. Everything is more expensive at the grocery store. Utilities and cable just went up. But no SS COLA.... I'm sooo glad there's no need for a COLA....<snort>. At least I got a small COLA on my state pension this year. Now I can occasionally get a can of premium dog food instead of eating the store brand.

I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if Congress got a COLA.
 
jujube said:
My auto insurance went up, my supplemental health insurance went up, my prescription co-pays went up. Everything is more expensive at the grocery store. Utilities and cable just went up. But no SS COLA.... I'm sooo glad there's no need for a COLA....<snort>. At least I got a small COLA on my state pension this year. Now I can occasionally get a can of premium dog food instead of eating the store brand.

I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if Congress got a COLA.
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In my opinion, they have no clue what the average senior has to live on!!
 
Why don't they just use things that REALLY matter to all seniors... like medical care, housing, food..utilities... Gas plays a minor role..
 

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