Current:Home > MarketsSocial Security recipients will get a smaller increase in benefits as inflation cools-LoTradeCoin
Social Security recipients will get a smaller increase in benefits as inflation cools
View Date:2024-12-23 21:11:34
Inflation held steady last month — and for retirees who depend on Social Security, the pace of price hikes means a more modest, though still welcome, cost-of-living increase next year.
Consumer prices in September were up 3.7% from a year ago, on par with the previous month.
Prices rose 0.4% between August and September, compared to a 0.6% jump between July and August. Rising rents and gasoline prices during September were partially offset by the falling price of used cars and trucks.
Inflation has eased in recent months, providing some relief for consumers as well as the Federal Reserve, which has been raising interest rates aggressively since last year.
Cooling inflation matters to Social Security beneficiaries in another way. Their annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is based on the average annual inflation rate for July, August and September — though it's calculated using a slightly different price index.
That means Social Security beneficiaries are set to receive a benefit increase of 3.2% next year, smaller than the 8.7% bump they got this year, which was the largest in decades.
The average retiree will receive about $55 more each month, beginning in January — compared to this year's increase which averaged $114 a month.
Smaller Social Security increases are still welcome
"Every little bit helps," says Carol Egner, a retired administrator who lives in Ketchikan, Alaska. She says her Social Security check barely covers necessities such as insurance, gas and heat.
"You just have to cut back on something," she says. "There's nothing left over for anything else."
Regina Wurst is also grateful for the cost of living adjustment, even though it's smaller than this year's.
"Any increase is very helpful," she says. "I'm 72 and I live in California, so the cost of living is quite high."
Most of Wurst's monthly Social Security check goes for rent on the house she shares with nine other family members. She's also raising two of her grandchildren.
"I was just today wondering how am I going to buy school clothes for my 10-year-old granddaughter," Wurst says. "She's really asking for more clothes. She wears the same thing every day."
veryGood! (2)
Related
- A wayward sea turtle wound up in the Netherlands. A rescue brought it thousands of miles back home
- 2024 Olympic Trials schedule: Time, Date, how to watch Swimming, Track & Field and Gymnastics
- Wildfires force New Mexico village of Ruidoso to evacuate homes: See map
- Retirement bites? Almost half of Gen Xers say they'll need a miracle to retire.
- King Charles III celebrates 76th birthday amid cancer battle, opens food hubs
- In Virginia GOP primary, Trump and McCarthy try to oust House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good
- Brooklyn preacher gets 9 years in prison for multiyear fraud
- Montana canal siphon splits open, flooding area and threatening local farming industry
- FBI raids New York City apartment of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, reports say
- 2024 College World Series live: Updates, score and more for Florida vs. NC State
Ranking
- Northern Taurid meteor shower hits peak activity this week: When and where to watch
- Supreme Court to hear Nvidia bid to scuttle shareholder lawsuit
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly gain after Wall St rallies to new records
- Russian President Vladimir Putin set to visit Kim Jong Un in North Korea
- When do new 'Yellowstone' episodes come out? Here's the Season 5, Part 2 episode schedule
- New Mexico village of Ruidoso orders residents to evacuate due to raging wildfire: GO NOW
- Should solo moms celebrate Father's Day? These parents weigh in on the social media debate
- Ariana Grande recruits Brandy, Monica for 'The Boy is Mine' remix
Recommendation
-
Judge hears case over Montana rule blocking trans residents from changing sex on birth certificate
-
Ariana Grande recruits Brandy, Monica for 'The Boy is Mine' remix
-
If you can’t stay indoors during this U.S. heat wave, here are a few ideas
-
Scooter Braun announces retirement as a music manager 5 years after Taylor Swift dispute
-
Tony Todd, star of 'Candyman,' 'Final Destination,' dies at 69
-
GOP claims Trump could win Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia in 2024 election. Here's what Democrats say.
-
Armie Hammer breaks silence on cannibalism accusations he said led to his career death
-
Pilgrims begin the final rites of Hajj as Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha