The Social Security Administration disappointed lots of Americans last year when it decided against an annual cost-of-living increase. The failure to increase Social Security payments put recipients in a tight spot because some Medicare expenses that are withdrawn automatically from Social Security checks still increased. Will the Social Security Administration frustrate recipients again or will Social Security benefits head higher in 2017?
Social Security stagnates in 2016
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks the direction of prices for goods and services in America and BLS' data on price inflation is used by the Social Security Administration to determine if Social Security benefits should be increased every year.
The SSA averages the BLS' monthly consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) in the third quarter of the current year and then compares it to the average CPI-W reported for the third quarter of the preceding year. If the current year's third quarter average is higher than the preceding year's third quarter average, then a cost-of-living increase is granted for the following year. Click here to continue reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment