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Friday’s jobs report has everyone excited. Everyone, that is, who is pulling for Joe Biden to win reelection. Outside that blinkered lot, the pain of Bidenomics is still very real. “Today’s report marks a milestone in America’s comeback,” he said. “Three years ago, I inherited an economy on the brink” – a lie we’ve repeatedly exposed – “With today’s report of 303,000 new jobs in March, we have passed the milestone of 15 million jobs created since I took office” – another lie; as we noted last week, the economy has created only 5 million net new jobs under Biden,...

While Social Security is set to increase by 3.2 percent in 2024, many seniors are worried about how the limited inflation adjustment will keep them afloat. In a new report from Atticus, a majority of seniors voiced dissatisfaction with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2024. In total, 62 percent of the 400 Americans over the age of 62 in the survey said they were unhappy with the payment bump. "About that 3.2 percent COLA increase for 2024, well, it sounds good on paper, but, honestly, it's not quite cutting it for seniors," Christopher Hensley, financial adviser and the president of...

(NewsNation) – The Social Security Administration announced 2024’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) just over a month ago, confirming a 3.2% bump in benefits for retirees. Here’s what you need to know. How does the 2024 increase compare to 2023’s? While still one of the largest increases in decades, 2024’s COLA increase of 3.2% is far below the 8.7% bump that recipients were granted in 2023.

Payments to Social Security recipients may increase a bit more than expected in 2024, but an advocacy group says they'll still fall short of what retirees need. The Senior Citizens League said Wednesday that the Social Security cost of living adjustment, or COLA, will likely be 3.2% for 2024. That would add about $57 to monthly benefits, raising them to $1,790 for the average recipient, according to the group's estimates. The cost of living adjustment is calculated based on an average of the inflation readings for the months of July, August and September. Specifically, it's based on the Consumer Price...

In 2023, Social Security benefits got an 8.7% COLA, the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 1981. According to the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), "COLAs are based on increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)." So, when inflation starts to cool, that means a lower cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients. Currently, inflation is at its lowest level in two years, dropping to a 12-month rate of 3.0% in June. This is down from 4.0% in May and 4.9% in April. David Payne, staff economist from the Kiplinger Letter, forecasts a 3% Social...

(NEXSTAR) – The next cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients is projected to be slightly better than previously estimated, but still the lowest in years, the Senior Citizen’s League predicts. The Senior Citizen’s League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior advocacy group, had estimated in mid-June that 2024’s COLA increase could be somewhere around 2.7% — a huge drop-off from 2023’s 8.7% increase. The group’s revised estimate, issued Thursday following the publication of the Labor Bureau’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W), now puts that number at 3%, they say. Three percent, however, would still amount to the lowest COLA...

(NEXSTAR) – Social Security recipients shouldn’t expect 2024’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to be as significant as 2023’s, despite warnings that beneficiaries are losing their purchasing power. “The 2024 COLA could be around 3.1%,” Mary Johnson, the Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for the Senior Citizens League, said in a news release issued last week.

(WJW) — Some Social Security recipients can expect a second payment before the end of the week. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients have received two benefit disbursements so far this month: the first SSI disbursement on March 1 and the regular Social Security payment on the second, third or fourth Wednesday, depending on their birth date. There’s typically only one SSI payment each month, paid out on the first of the month. But if that day falls on a weekend or holiday, it arrives on the last business day before the end of the month. This year, April 1 is...

From the beginning, Tab’s story has been one of perseverance. The brand survived initial low sales, the artificial sweetener scares of the 1960s and 1970s, lukewarm enthusiasm for the product at the corporate level and intermittent consumer availability to become—for a brief period—the most popular diet soda in America. Then, of course, Diet Coke came along. While it never regained its lofty status as the top diet soda, loyal Tab fans kept the brand alive.

If you receive Social Security benefits, there's an important letter coming to you in the mail this month. The Social Security Administration is sending out letters throughout December with information on beneficiaries' cost of living adjustment coming in January. Don't throw out the letter and don't lose it. You may need it for a number of reasons, including proof of benefit amount when applying for loans or energy assistance. So keep that letter in a safe place. The letter notifies beneficiaries of their new 2023 benefit amount, according to the SSA, which will increase by 8.7% in January. Those who...

* Social Security beneficiaries will soon see bigger checks to help them cope with record high inflation. * As Social Security statements roll in, you should troubleshoot for errors that can cost you. * Also keep in mind that higher income this year may affect your income taxes and Medicare premium surcharges in the future. As inflation has kept prices high in 2022, Social Security beneficiaries may look forward to a record high cost-of-living adjustment in 2023. “Your Social Security benefits will increase by 8.7% in 2023 because of a rise in cost of living,” the Social Security Administration states...

Social Security beneficiaries are about to see their largest increase in benefits in four decades. Starting in January 2023, recipients of Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments will see their benefits go up by 8.7 percent, according to the Social Security Administration. Approximately 70 million Americans will benefit from the bump, the agency said, with an average increase of more than $140 per month expected. The increase will follow the agency’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is required by federal law and based on the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The news that 70 million people will see an 8.7% boost in their Social Security checks next year came just weeks before Election Day, but it is unlikely to give Democrats the edge they are desperately seeking at the polls. In fact, the promise of bigger payments could call even more attention to the surging prices that have been inflicting pain on households — and the reason behind Thursday’s announcement of the the program’s largest cost-of-living increase in four decades. “It’s going to bring more money to people’s pockets, but it primes people to think about high...

Social Security beneficiaries can expect an 8.7% boost to benefits in 2023, the Social Security Administration announced on Thursday. The increase tops the 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment for 2022, which at the time was the highest in four decades.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seventy-year-old Cassandra Gentry is looking forward to a hefty cost-of-living increase in her Social Security benefits — not for herself but to pay for haircuts for her two grandchildren and put food on the table. The three live in a Washington apartment building that houses 50 “grandfamilies” — where grandparents take care of children who do not have parents present. Gentry, who took in her grandkids to keep them in a safe environment, says the boost in benefits will help her make ends meet. “I never thought about contributing to Social Security when I was working, but...

One of the biggest advantages of Social Security is that its payments get annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). When inflation is high -- as seniors have seen during the past couple of years -- these COLAs cause monthly checks to rise the following January to help retiree purchasing power keep pace. 2022's COLA boosted benefits by 5.9% this year, and early estimates make it likely that the COLA that will take effect in early 2023 will be between 8% and 9%. What's even better news is that, unlike in 2022, many Social Security recipients are more likely to see the full...

US inflation rose by a higher-than-expected 8.3% in August despite falling gasoline prices — adding pressure on the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to impose another super-size interest rate hike. The August reading of the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, a closely watched measure of the costs of goods and services, rose 0.1% compared to July. Economists had expected a slight month-over-month decline. American households remained under severe pressure. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and gas prices, rose 6.3% year-over-year and 0.6% compared to July. Headline inflation ticked lower as gas prices continued to recede from record highs...

But is that actually a good thing?Retiring on Social Security alone is a dangerous thing. That’s because those benefits will only replace about 40% of the typical worker’s pre-retirement income, and most seniors need about twice as much money to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.But the reality is that a lot of people do end up retiring solely or largely on Social Security. And it’s those same people who are apt to be the most impacted by Social Security raises.Each year, benefits are subject to a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, based on inflation levels. Since inflation has been sky-high this year,...

Hot government inflation data points to an 8.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023, The Senior Citizens League said Friday. That would top a 5.9% boost to benefits that went into effect this year, the highest in about 40 years. Some advocacy groups and lawmakers want to change the way those annual adjustments to benefits are calculated. Image Source | Getty Images New government inflation data came in hotter than expected last week. If record-high prices don’t subside, that will lead to a higher Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2023. Yet even with a more generous boost to benefits next year, there’s...

In 1767, the English chemist Joseph Priestley conducted an experiment in a brewery that involved hanging a bowl of distilled water above a beer vat. This unlikely set-up resulted in carbon dioxide infusing the water, resulting in carbonated water. Priestley tasted the water and found it to his liking. He continued his experiments and published the scientific paper “Impregnating Water with Fixed Air” in 1772. But Priestley would become distracted with other projects, such as discovering oxygen and introducing the Unitarian religion to England, and he allowed his experimental work with carbonated water to be expanded by others, resulting over...