Recipients of the US government's Social Security benefits continued to await the announcement regarding the increase on their actual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). According to The Washington Post, around one-fifth of the US population anticipated the news. There are currently close to 58 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children receiving Social Security benefits.
A benefit increase of 1.5% has been suggested by the Congressional Budget Office. Washington Post reported that the increase, set to be implemented in January, is expected to be small. This is because consumer prices did not go up as much this year. The exact increase, however, would only be known after the Labor Department would release the September inflation report. The report has been indefinitely delayed due to the government shutdown.
According to Bankrate, a 1.5% increase would be lower than the 1.7% increase in 2013. This would translate to a USD 220 a year increase or USD 18.36 a day for someone receiving a benefit of USD 1,224 a month.
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