Social Security Update: New Bill Would Change COLA for Seniors
Summary
A bill called the Social Security 2100 Act was reintroduced in Congress to change how cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are calculated for Social Security benefits from 2027 to 2036. The bill aims to better reflect seniors’ spending, especially on healthcare, by using a new inflation measure alongside the current one to possibly increase annual benefit raises.Key Facts
- The Social Security 2100 Act proposes changing the COLA formula to include the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), in addition to the current Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
- The CPI-E tracks spending patterns of Americans aged 62 and older, who typically spend more on healthcare.
- Under the bill, Social Security benefits would increase by whichever inflation measure (CPI-W or CPI-E) shows a higher rise each year.
- The change would start in 2027 and last through 2036.
- Currently, about 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, many of whom rely on these payments as a major income source.
- The increase in benefits would likely be small each year but would add up over time, potentially raising benefits by about 2% more over 10 years.
- The bill has limited support in Congress and is mainly seen as a starting point for future bipartisan negotiations.
- Experts note it could improve benefits for older retirees and ask higher earners to pay more payroll taxes.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
