Social Security cost of living increase may be smallest ever

Published 4:05 pm Friday, October 2, 2020

The Social Security Administration has not yet announced its annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) — though it will sometime this month — but experts expect it to be one of the lowest the agency has ever had.

The Senior Citizens League is a nonpartisan advocacy group with a strong history of accurately forecasting the increases. SCL estimates the COLA for 2021 could be 1.3%. That is less than the 1.6% adjustment made for 2020 and one of the lowest in SSA’s 85-year history.

Medicare expenses are expected to rise also, possibly canceling out the COLA increase, according SCL.

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One year ago, SSA predicted its 2021 COLA would be 2.3%, then 2.5% in 2022 and 2.4% every year 2023-2029.