Yes, the announcement should be on Thursday, October 15th. The CPI for September, which is the last number needed to calculate the COLA, will be released at 8:30 am by the BLS. Social Security should announce the COLA later in the day (I think usually not long after the CPI is released), which will be 0 unless there was a significant jump in inflation in September (I think over 0.9%, which happens but is unusual). Even if inflation were higher than that, the COLA will almost certainly be small (less than 0.2% unless the September inflation is higher than any in the last 10 years) and less than the Medicare premium increase.
SSA will also release on Thursday the wage base (cap) for 2016, and the average wage index for 2014.
If there is no COLA, then the taxable maximum won't rise in 2016. That's because of a quirk in the law, and Congress should fix it. A zero COLA also freezes Medicare premiums for most beneficiaries, leaving a small subset to pay much higher rates. See the box, "Small or Zero Cost-of-Living Adjustment Expected in 2016," in a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities at http://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/what-the-2015-trustees-report-shows-about-social-security.
What gets me is that I was told years ago that gas for your car was not included in the GNP. Now all of a sudden the Government is saying the gas prices were low for most of the year, so that's why there is no cola. Am I wrong about what I was told?
Yes, the announcement should be on Thursday, October 15th. The CPI for September, which is the last number needed to calculate the COLA, will be released at 8:30 am by the BLS. Social Security should announce the COLA later in the day (I think usually not long after the CPI is released), which will be 0 unless there was a significant jump in inflation in September (I think over 0.9%, which happens but is unusual). Even if inflation were higher than that, the COLA will almost certainly be small (less than 0.2% unless the September inflation is higher than any in the last 10 years) and less than the Medicare premium increase.
ReplyDeleteSSA will also release on Thursday the wage base (cap) for 2016, and the average wage index for 2014.
If there is no COLA, then the taxable maximum won't rise in 2016. That's because of a quirk in the law, and Congress should fix it. A zero COLA also freezes Medicare premiums for most beneficiaries, leaving a small subset to pay much higher rates. See the box, "Small or Zero Cost-of-Living Adjustment Expected in 2016," in a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities at http://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/what-the-2015-trustees-report-shows-about-social-security.
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me is that I was told years ago that gas for your car was not included in the GNP. Now all of a sudden the Government is saying the gas prices were low for most of the year, so that's why there is no cola. Am I wrong about what I was told?
ReplyDeleteKind of like I was told in 1964 that I could receive full benefits when I reached my 65th birthday??
ReplyDeleteYep, rental prices are climbing like crazy, and they're not even in the equation.
ReplyDeleteOK, I don't see anything yet on the SSA website, but the September CPI-W is out, and the COLA will be 0.
ReplyDelete