Social Security benefits to go up by 1.7 percent

[Cryptoad]

Source: ap - excite

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of older Americans who rely on federal benefits will get a 1.7 percent increase in their monthly payments next year, the government announced Wednesday.

It's the third year in a row the increase will be less than 2 percent.

The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, affects payments to more than 70 million Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees. That's more than a fifth of the country.

The increase amounts to about $20 a month for the typical Social Security recipient.

"The COLA helps beneficiaries of all ages maintain their standard of living, keeping many from falling into poverty by providing partial protection against inflation," said Jo Ann Jenkins, who heads AARP.

The government announced the benefit increase Wednesday, when it released the latest measure of consumer prices. By law, the increase is based on inflation, which is well below historical averages so far this year.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141022/us--social_security-cola-66bc8fc79d.html

---

everybody that thinks that the thingys that old poor folk use has only gone up 1.7% this last year...... please contact me ,,,I have some good bridges for sale.....cheap!

The the assault on the old poor folks continues!

[NV Whino]

1. Well, let's see...

$20 a month will just offset the rise in Medicare part D.

[Divernan]

24. Medicare Part B premium & deductible won't change in 2015.

At least the Part B expenses will not increase. For younger DUers who are not familiar with the ins and outs of Medicare, Part D refers to prescription drug coverage.

People on Medicare, the government health insurance program for older Americans, usually have their Part B premiums deducted from Social Security payments. The premiums, which cover outpatient care, are scheduled to stay the same next year — $104.90 a month.

And from a government website:
http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/costs-at-a-glance/costs-at-glance.html

Medicare 2014 & 2015 costs at a glance
2014 & 2015 Costs at a Glance
Part B premium Most people pay $104.90 each month.(This amount won't change in 2015.)
Part B deductible $147 per year. (This amount won't change in 2015.)

Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance)
expand icon Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance)
expand icon Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage)
expand icon Medicare Part D (Medicare prescription drug coverage)

[freshwest]

59. Thanks for the information. Will share it.

[Scuba]

2. Wow, I'm so excited. We'll be able to go out to dinner every other month. Hope I can stay calm.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=United+States

[Eleanors38]

52. Souper Salad an extra 3X/mo! Exploding with joy!

[merrily]

3. Social Security is not only for old poor folk. It's for everyone, rich or poor, who is of

age, who worked enough quarters, and who applies. It's also for people who became disabled after working enough quarters. And, it is for the widows and widowers and minor children of people who worked enough quarters, but passed on.

But, the poorest old and disabled people who are eligible for Social Security are indeed the ones who suffer most from "cost of living" adjustments that bear little relation to the increases in cost of living and factor out food entirely.

It's the third year in a row the increase will be less than 2 percent.

Weren't there also a couple of years in the not too distant past when there was no increase at all?

[PatrynXX]

7. yes SSD

sounds good to me. now if Bush were in control I'd be f**ked

[merrily]

11. I am not familiar with SSD

Social Security is OASDI, which stands for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance. That is the federal program for people who have worked the required number of quarters to be eligible.

SSI is the corresponding state welfare program.

I am not sure the identity of the President affects OASDI or SSI, given that the law, the regulations and the bureaucracy does not change that much from administration to administration.

I don't know what SSD is.

[meow2u3]

36. SSD= Social Security Disability

eom

[merrily]

37. Oh, ok. The "D" part of OASDI.

[oldandhappy]

4. WOW $20!!!

Not enough to cover the increase in my wi fi, but hey. It all counts, smile.

[RebelOne]

34. Yippee!!! A whole $20!!!

That will buy me a couple loaves of bread and a couple cartons of milk. Big deal!!! I wonder if the people who set the COLA raise have been to the supermarket lately.

[merrily]

38. Food prices are deemed too volatile to figure into the COLA.

So, food prices could quadruple in a year and it would not matter at all in terms of increasing the OASDI benefit.

[Sgent]

58. Thats not true

The CPI-U (which is what the raise is based on) includes food and energy:

http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm

Most news reports and the financial sectors take out food and energy prices when looking a month to month changes as they are so volatile on a monthly or quarterly basis.

The reason for the smaller increases is the much lower housing costs and energy prices.

[frazzled]

5. It's a set formula that has been in place since 1975

that determines the increases.

I'm not sure I heard complaints about it during the eight years of the Bush administration, but all of a sudden, we have an "assault" on the elderly. The calculations are identical, but inflation (calculated the same way it has been for the past 40 years) has been low. We keep saying we need to let inflation rise a bit, but nobody anywhere seems to want to let that happen.

But don't tell me there's an assault on the elderly poor suddenly when the law and the means of calculating COLAs has not changed one iota. Change the law if need be, or change the inflation rate (by raising interest rates?), but don't pretend something "new" is going on.

[Cryptoad]

9. Well I am now so glad to know that

the Old Folks are in such good hands...... seems you read what you want to read,,,, nobody said there was any new method of calculating, the point is that the algorithm used for calculating the cola is weighted against poor people now and then. They do not consume the wide spectrum of goods like the wealthy, most of which keep the rate low. And yes this has been a wrong that has been exposed for over 40 years, and it has been ignored by the politicians and people like you for that same time frame.

[frazzled]

12. And ignored by you, right?

What did you do to try to get the formula changed over the past 40 years? Did you write to or meet with your Congress members during the Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush administrations about it? Did you write letters to the editor? Did you contribute money to a think tank researching possible changes to the formula? Answer truthfully.

[Cryptoad]

13. YEP !

[Ratty]

15. Yep, we all know there's a huge problem with the COLA

Any trip to the supermarket will tell you how much food prices have risen in the last few years. Low inflation my ass. Something is going on.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the trend of lowering the amount of food in a package while keeping the prices relatively low. A can of tuna, see how tiny that shit is nowdays? I haven't bought a candy bar in ages because those prices HAVE gone up while the size keeps shrinking.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/04/u-s-companies-shrink-packages-as-food-prices-rise

[A Simple Game]

27. I don't know why you are being so deceitful. You are basically right about the

formula not changing but untruthful about implying that the outcome has not changed.

While the formula may not have changed, how the components of the formula are calculated has changed dramatically. You should know this if you are as knowledgeable about the subject as you imply you are.

Just the changing of one food item in the food basket could and has made a dramatic difference.

Do you want to talk about the exclusion of total energy costs in the calculation?

[frazzled]

31. I support changing it from CPI-W to CPI-E

but that hasn't happened. It remains CPI-W, as it has been.

[pangaia]

29. Inflation numbers are a crock.

Try pricing, oh...say... a tomato,

[840high]

53. My hand reaches out - then I look

at the price and don't get it.

[merrily]

39. What part of "continues" signifies something new?

[procon]

6. Thank god!

Now my kitty won't have to eat beans.

[Enthusiast]

8. I think they should do away with Social Security.

If you can't make it on your own efforts just get fucked and die.

FDR was a commie anyway. He penned up the Japanese Americans during WWII. Only a commie would do that.

I can't wait till we get Hillary in there so she can do away with these nancy programs like Medicare and Social Security.

[whathehell]

10. That was pretty much Edward Snowden's opinion..

He thought Social Security was a "scam" and talked about his 83 year old granny

still working as a hairdresser.

[Enthusiast]

14. I could slap the shit out of Snowden for saying that, if I had a chance.

At least he is fighting for our freedom(s).

Anyone that thinks Social Security is a scam is sadly misinformed. SS is not a ponzi scheme and it isn't a scam. Administered properly it is the only solvent part of the entire fucking government.

Think about it. Social Security has paid out nearly 3 trillion less than it has taken in. Sounds to me like it is working far better than advertised. That is 3 trillion. Every other aspect of government spending far outstrips available revenue.

[whathehell]

25. Yeah, like Ratty says, he sounds like a first class libertarian and

kind of an asshole, even though I DO appreciate his exposing the NSA, at LEAST

to America...I haven't followed all that closely, but it seems he linked

a LOT of information, some to the Chinese as well, so I don't know how

that all of his endeavors were so positive.

He's a mixed bag -- Like Ratty said, I don't think I'd like having a beer with him.

[Ratty]

21. Snowden sounds like a first class Libertarian asshole.

Assange, Greenwald, assholes all. But often it's the assholes who manage to get great things done. I'm still very grateful for the huge risk Snowden took to bring out the truth. It took guts to leave his secure life behind. And courage. And assholeness. He has my thanks but I wouldn't want to sit down with him for a beer.

[whathehell]

22. My sentiments exactly,

He did some good things, but I don't like him as an individual.

[stage left]

16. Wow.

I don't know how we'll manage to spend it all. I really can't believe that they've actually looked at the rise in food prices, including the hidden rise--Where items stay the same price, but the packages are smaller.

[merrily]

20. You've already spent it and they don't count food at all. Please see Reply 17.

The rich people who collect Social Security won't even notice a sum like $20 a month and it won't be anywhere near enough for those trying to live on Social Security.

[stage left]

50. I don't have it yet and I've already spent it?

And how the hell can they not count food and the rise in food costs?

[Cryptoad]

23. The GOP has plans to,,,

switch to a new method based on a "chained CPI" when they get control. This method will be even more unfair to the Poor!

[merrily]

40. If they do, they can point to Democrats if anyone complains.

According to Pelosi, "chained CPI" is not a decrease in Social Security. At least, that was her opinion when the Obama administration was talking about it.

[stage left]

51. The Gop's motto is

We're more unfair to the poor. Vote for us.

[merrily]

17. Please remember as well that the COLA is always a year behind. For example, 2014's benefit amount

was calculated in 2013, based on how much certain prices had risen in 2012. And, again, food is excluded from the calculation entirely.

The increase takes into account increases in things that few poor disabled or elderly are spending money on, like cars and plane tickets, but excludes increases in food prices, which they must spend on to survive.

[MineralMan]

18. Every dollar helps.

The COLA is figured out according to a formula. We went a couple of years with no increase at all. More is better, even if it's only a little more.

[riversedge]

26. yes, and I know a few personally who will be grateful:-)

[malthaussen]

33. Yeah, my mother's sentiments exactly.

"At least they didn't reduce it."

-- Mal

[Adrahil]

19. At least it's ahead of inflation... THIS year.

But they have some catching up to do. I hope to get a raise this year. It's been a dry couple of years.

[sunnystarr]

28. For me the COLA

covers the increase in my Supplemental which seems to go up every year.

[silvershadow]

30. Oh. nt

[madamesilverspurs]

32. In my own case

the increase has been insufficient counterweight to the cuts in other benefits that usually happen at the same time. And the landlord always seems to have an urgent need to raise rents accordingly. The last two increases have actually left me with less money at the end of each month. To those for whom the COLA is a boon, I'm genuinely happy for you. For myself, a bit of breathing room would be a godsend.

[Beowulf42]

35. BGD

1.7%? I say tie the rate of increase for Social Security to the yearly compensation of top executives. That only seems fair.

[jtuck004]

41. Scraps from the table of thieving bastards. n/t

[onecent]

42. Well I guess us senior citizens can eat the lower grade hamburger once

a month now....until gas goes back UP.

[LibDemAlways]

44. Even the lower grade hamburger has become

outrageously expensive - $6.00 a pound at my local market. My 91-year-old mother has been buying a lot of hot dogs and mac and cheese. I doubt a big 1.7% SS raise is going to change that. It's criminal that so many SS recipients are barely scraping by while the fatcats are dining on steak and lobster and laughing all the way to the bank.

[Eleanors38]

54. Yikes! I've gone to deer meat. Have to get 2/yr., and

that keeps meat down to $2/lb. I give quite a bit to folks who need it because of their crappy pay. I don't buy beef at the super anymore.

[undergroundpanther]

43. fuck this new cola crap

I spend most my ssi on food because food stamps cover half a month. Why the fuck do disabled and the old are made to live BELOW the poverty line while selfish hedge fund managers(guys who make bets with other peoples money)get obscene cash and nobody in the news or in politics dares too see let alone Ask,why do the disabled and old deserve abuse via poverty for?

[LibDemAlways]

45. My mom's Medicare supplemental insurance premium

almost doubled recently when my late father's company screwed retirees by abandoning their insurance plan. Costs keep going up and up while modest retirement income barely changes. It's criminal.

[onecent]

46. Yes, the automobile Company I worked for for 30 years

stopped my medical, eye care, dental in exchange for $150 a month. What a deal.
I was not Union, I was in the office, but they are treating the union guys even worse than me now.

[gerogie2]

47. The problem is...

My medicare part D monthly premuim went up $20 this year. I'm looking for a cheaper plan that will cover all my prescriptions, but it doesn't look good.

[Hatchling]

48. Doesn't mean much to some of us.

If we get SSA and SSI. when we get the raise in SSA they always decrease the amount of SSI we get. Stagnation.

[llmart]

49. It'll mean $15 more a month to me.....

unless my Medicare plan increases which it probably will. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how people make ends meet. I have always been pretty frugal and I can live without a lot, but even then I wonder about down the road when I am older and can no longer get a part time job. Some people like to wonder why boomers won't leave the work force - well, here it is. We don't have pensions like our parents did and we all know how well 401k's worked for us. Then there's the fact that some of us have to pay taxes on the measly Social Security we get (both state and federal taxes) as if somehow we're not doing our "fair share" of paying our taxes. Then you hear about how the 1%'ers can keep a tax attorney on retainer to figure out how they can get out of paying any taxes at all. It's a miracle the seniors haven't revolted yet! Guess we're all too tired of fighting.

[Cleita]

55. Whoopee!

I guess that's money my pols won't get from me. If they had a brain they would change the COLA formula to reflect reality and then maybe seniors could afford to give them something for their campaigns.

[RKP5637]

56. Oh, good, I can use that to go on a cruise! n/t

[grasswire]

57. the raises are nullified for those on food stamps

according to local news, more SSA means decrease in food stamps.

[raccoon]

60. It's not just the old folks, haven't you noticed? Working people rarely get raises any more

and if they do, it isn't very much.

The assault on the 99% continues.