Social Security's Cost-Of-Living Adjustment Set At 3.2% — Less Than Half Of The Current Year's Increase

MoneyWatch, CBS Los Angeles

October 12, 2023

The Social Security Administration said its 2024 cost-of-living adjustment will be 3.2%, a much smaller bump than the 8.7% increase seniors and other beneficiaries received this year. But with inflation still far from its pre-pandemic levels, seniors and other recipients may be at risk of losing financial ground with the smaller adjustment, experts said.

The average retirement benefit will increase by about $50 a month, beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said on Thursday. That will boost the typical monthly payment to $1,907 from this year's $1,858, the agency said.

Next year's COLA, while lower than the current year, is still above the historical norm for the annual adjustment, which has averaged 2.6% over the past two decades, according to the Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group for older Americans. But many seniors are reporting that they are falling behind, with the annual adjustment failing to keep up with their actual spending.

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