9% Social Security Raise Will Boost WA Recipients’ Checks By $140

WASHINGTON — More than 1.1 million Washingtonians will see a nearly 9 percent bump in their Social Security benefits next year to offset rising inflation, according to an announcement Thursday by the Social Security Administration.

Beginning in January, residents who are 65 or older will see, on average, a $140 increase in their monthly Social Security benefits under the historic 8.7 percent increase. It’s the biggest cost-of-living, or COLA, increase in four decades, and the largest adjustment baby boomers, those people born from 1946 to 1964, have ever seen.

The Social Security boost would affect about 70.3 million people, about 8 million of whom receive Social Security Income. That Social Security Administration program provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness, or who have income or resources below specific financial limits.

At the same time, a 3 percent drop in Medicare Part B premiums will give older Americans “more peace of mind and breathing room,” Social Security Administration Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi said Thursday.

“This year’s substantial Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is the first time in over a decade that Medicare premiums are not rising and shows that we can provide more support to older Americans who count on the benefits they have earned,” Kijakazi said.

Social Security benefits increased by about 5.9 percent at the beginning of this year to offset rising consumer prices.

The announcement comes as another government report released Thursday pointed to accelerating inflation. The September Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent for September, after a smaller 0.1 percent increase in August, and 8.2 percent over the past year. Jobless claims for unemployment benefits also rose.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest CPI report, rising costs were offset some by declines in gasoline prices, which are increasing again after the Saudi Arabia-backed OPEC group said it would cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day.

The announcement of the Social Security cost-of-living raise comes just weeks before the midterm elections, in many states a referendum on President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy. He has pledged to protect both Social Security and Medicare.

“I’ll make them stronger,” Biden said last month. “And I’ll lower your cost to be able to keep them.”

Social Security is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes for 2023 is $160,200.

The financing setup dating back to the 1930s is the brainchild of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who believed a payroll tax would foster among average Americans a sense of ownership that would protect the program from political interference.

Next year's higher payout, without an accompanying increase in Social Security contributions, could put additional pressure on a system that's facing a severe shortfall in coming years.

The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released in June says the program's trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035.

If the trust fund is depleted, the government will be able to pay only 80 percent of scheduled benefits, the report said. Medicare will be able to pay 90 percent of total scheduled benefits if the fund is depleted.

In January, a Pew Research Center poll showed 57 percent of U.S. adults saying that “taking steps to make the Social Security system financially sound” was a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year. Securing Social Security got bipartisan support, with 56 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of Republicans calling it a top priority.

Some solutions for reforming Social Security have been proposed — but none has moved forward in a sharply partisan Congress. Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott issued a detailed plan to require Congress to come up with a proposal to adequately fund or phase out Social Security and Medicare.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, publicly rebuked Scott’s proposal and Biden has used it as a political bludgeon against Republicans ahead of the midterms.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.