{"id":501280,"date":"2022-10-15T23:34:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-15T20:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/retire-better-seniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough\/"},"modified":"2022-10-15T23:34:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-15T20:34:00","slug":"retire-better-seniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/retire-better-seniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"#Retire Better: Seniors are getting a big Social Security raise \u2014 here\u2019s why it may not be enough"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40d441ab470\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40d441ab470\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/retire-better-seniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough\/#%E2%80%9CRetire_Better_Seniors_are_getting_a_big_Social_Security_raise_%E2%80%94_heres_why_it_may_not_be_enough%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Retire Better: Seniors are getting a big Social Security raise \u2014 here\u2019s why it may not be enough&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/retire-better-seniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough\/#Every_last_penny_of_that_87_hike_is_needed\" >Every last penny of that 8.7% hike is needed<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/retire-better-seniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough\/#Paul_Brandus\" >Paul Brandus<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CRetire_Better_Seniors_are_getting_a_big_Social_Security_raise_%E2%80%94_heres_why_it_may_not_be_enough%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Retire Better: Seniors are getting a big Social Security raise \u2014 here\u2019s why it may not be enough&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Every_last_penny_of_that_87_hike_is_needed\"><\/span>\n  Every last penny of that 8.7% hike is needed<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap crawler\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001280312\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0001280312\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       The 66 million Americans on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a> Security are getting a big cost-of-living increase:\u00a08.7%.\u00a0It goes into effect in December, with the first payment\u00a0made in January 2023. It\u2019s the biggest hike since the 11.2% cost of living adjustment (COLA)\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/oact\/cola\/colaseries.html\" class=\"icon none\">announced back in 1981<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> Thursday\u2019s announcement by the Social Security Administration would lift the average monthly benefit by more than $140 a month to about $1,814 for retired workers and dependents, and about $1,480 for disabled workers and dependents from the current $1,362.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n<p>Every last penny of that 8.7% hike is needed.\u00a0The cost of living (CPI) index has soared in 2022, rising 8.2% for the 12 months ended in September\u00a0But food inflation is much higher, with\u00a0grocery\u00a0prices rising 13.5% for the\u00a0year ended in August, according to the latest data from the Labor Department.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read:<\/strong> Social Security\u2019s COLA is no bonus<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s behind this inflation? Let me count the ways. Some of it is tied to Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, which has pinched commodities, helping to drive up prices globally. Here at home,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/climate-environment\/2022\/10\/04\/drought-livestock-cattle-great-plains\/\" class=\"icon none\">U.S. cattle ranchers say climate change<\/a>\u2014as in rising heat and vanishing water supplies\u2014is causing them to thin their herds, driving up meat prices. And some critics say heavy government spending to help Americans stay afloat during the pandemic has also contributed to inflation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Then there are heating prices. Natural gas\u2014used to heat the most of American homes\u2014is up 35% over the last two years, according to Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. \u201cAnd supplies are tight, because many utilities drew down their natural gas inventories to generate electricity during the summer.\u201d\u00a0U.S. households are looking at an average power\u00a0bill of $1,359 this winter, according to the Energy Information Administration, a federal agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The concern here is that these kinds of increases\u2014for absolute must-haves like food and energy\u2014will squeeze millions of Americans who remain heavily dependent, if not utterly so, for the bulk of their income.\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/news\/press\/factsheets\/basicfact-alt.pdf%20f\" class=\"icon none\">The latest figures from the Social Security Administration<\/a>\u00a0show just how precarious things are for so many:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As of June 2022:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"articleList\">\n<li>\n      Social Security benefits represented about 30% of all income for elderly Americans.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      37% of elderly male recipients and 42% of elderly female recipients relied on Social Security for 50% or more of their income.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      12% of these men and 15% of these women relied on Social Security for 90% or more of their income.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The math isn\u2019t difficult here. If the Social Security COLA is 8.7%, but food and energy have gone up more than that, it will unquestionably mean further pain and difficult choices for millions of elderly Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But one thing could actually help seniors gain ground on inflation in 2023: the lowering of Medicare premiums for many beneficiaries. The decline <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lies to Medicare Part B, which provides outpatient medical coverage. After jumping 14.5% from 2021 to 2022 (the hike was designed to help pay for Aduhelm, an Alzheimer\u2019s treatment), premiums are now slated to fall 3.0% to $164.90 per month. The annual Part B deductible will also fall 3% to $226.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> for seniors and people with disabilities who receive Medicare, most of whom have these premiums deducted directly from their Social Security payments,\u201d says Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, a Washington-based advocacy group.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s good about this, Altman points out, is that \u201cin years past,\u00a0rising Medicare premiums have often consumed most or even all of the (Social Security) increase for many beneficiaries. This won\u2019t be the case in 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the combination of a Social Security boost and cut in Medicare premiums is a double benefit for seniors. \u201cWe will put more money in their pockets and provide them with a little extra breathing room,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to remember that there are tax implications for Social Security earners. The COLA increase (along with wages and interest from certain investments) could push some recipients into a higher tax bracket. Here\u2019s what you need to know:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"articleList\">\n<li>\n      Single filers making $25,000 or less, or couples making $32,000 or less pay no taxes on their Social Security benefits.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      Single filers making between $25,000 and $34,000, and couples making between $32,000 and $44,000, pay taxes on up to 50% of their benefits.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      Single and joint filers making above those thresholds pay taxes on up to 85% of their benefits.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      An easy way to remember this: 15% of Social Security benefits \u2014 roughly $3,200 in 2023 \u2014 will always be tax-free.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author mobile-scrim hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Paul Brandus\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"bio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/author\/paul-brandus\",\"text\":\"Biography\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"twitter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WestWingReport\",\"text\":\"@WestWingReport\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"email\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/mailto:contributors@marketwatch.com\",\"text\":\"contributors@marketwatch.com\"}]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Paul_Brandus\"><\/span>Paul Brandus<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><ufc-follow-author-widget product=\"marketwatch\" author-id=\"155_MW\" author-name=\"Paul Brandus\" signin-url=\"https:\/\/accounts.marketwatch.com\/login?target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fseniors-are-getting-a-big-social-security-raise-heres-why-it-may-not-be-enough-11665671127%3Frss%3D1%26siteid%3Drss\" panda-api=\"https:\/\/follow-api.marketwatch.com\"><\/ufc-follow-author-widget><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7138-938CDA309989%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Retire Better: Seniors are getting a big Social Security raise \u2014 here\u2019s why it may not be enough&#8221; Every last penny of that 8.7% hike is needed The 66 million Americans on Social Security are getting a big cost-of-living increase:\u00a08.7%.\u00a0It goes into effect in December, with the first payment\u00a0made in January 2023. It\u2019s the biggest&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":501281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-643471\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-501280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}