Uptick in Social Security checks for 2019 as inflation rises

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of millions of Social Security recipients and other retirees will get a 2.8 percent increase in benefits next year as inflation edges higher. For the average retired worker, it amounts to $39 a month.

After a period of low inflation, the increase for 2019 is the highest in 7 years.

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, affects household budgets for about one in five Americans, including Social Security beneficiaries, disabled veterans and federal retirees. That's about 70 million people, enough to send ripples through the economy.

Automatic inflation protection has been a standard feature of Social Security since 1975. Social Security recipients also gain from compounding because COLAs becomes part of their underlying benefit, the base for future COLA increases.

FULL story at link below.

Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/trending/uptick-in-social-security-checks-for-as-inflation-rises/article_3676fdc1-8a21-56b0-a56d-db69eef6d687.html

[Srkdqltr]

1. COLA increase?

$39 average. He still my heart. They will probably raise something else.

[llmart]

2. They almost always raise Medicare just enough to wipe out the increase in SS.

[mountain grammy]

5. Yep!

[jayschool2013]

15. Colorado PERA retirees are stuck for two years with no increase

Thanks, Colorado General Assembly. And thanks, PERA board for paying $2 billion in fees to hedge fund managers instead of managing your own damn portfolios.

[Wellstone ruled]

11. Yes you nailed the real

thing that is about to be announced.

[Achilleaze]

12. Youbetcha. They need to feed BigMed, Inc. & BigPharma Inc.

So they will seeming give with one hand (just before the election) and then snatch with the other hand (after the election).

republicans are experts at suckering the American people.

[CountAllVotes]

14. 2019 Medicare Insurance Cost

The monthly premiums you pay will be dependent on your tax return filed in 2017. If you are in one of the following income categories, this is what you will pay in 2019:

Less than $85,000 – $134 per month
$85,001 – $107,000 – $187.50 per month
$107,001 – $133,500 – $267.90 per month
$133,501 – $160,000 – $348.30 per month
Above $160,000 – $428.60 per month

I think most people will end up paying $134.00/mo. for Medicare A/B.

[question everything]

30. Interesting. They used to have just two categoies

Below 170K (I think) when everyone paid the same, and over 170K.

OK, these amounts are for single filers. For joint filers - multiply by 2.

[pazzyanne]

24. That happened to me and others.

To make matters worse, through tRump's Medicare meddling I lost my Medicare Advantage Cost plan and that plan along with my Medicare premium went from $215 dollars a month in 2018 to $426 dollars a month in 2019 for the same coverage. I can't afford that. Also found out that if you are on Medicare and want the shingles shot, you have to get it at a pharmacy. I have been at doctor's appointments for both of the shots in the series, but they could not give it to me. I have to go to a pharmacy to get it. Did I mention that I have to drive 80 miles round trip for my medical care?

[LibDemAlways]

4. Yep. And don't spend it all in one place.

[3Hotdogs]

10. Yeah, well if the Cock brothers and Ryan had their way, you'd owe money.

Actually, maybe not. Little Mushroom Dick gets S.S. and he isn't gonna give up a penny of it. He would veto a decrease in benefits.

[tblue37]

22. Yep. Mine will go up $40. nt

[jodymarie aimee]

3. How'd they get this by the greedmongers and their President...

odd....

[bigbrother05]

6. Old white guys get SS, so has to keep the base happy

If old white guys got SNAP, pork rinds and beer would be on the primary foods list.

[CountAllVotes]

8. It has nothing to do with tRump

Any COLA is automatic. It is based on the CPI-U.

If there is little/no inflation you get little/nothing.

If there is inflation, you will get an increase but as noted above, Medicare is real good at sucking any extra $ up.

It is not just "old white guys" that rely upon SS.

People that are disabled and have paid enough into the system may qualify as well as other persons, women included.

[bigbrother05]

16. If Trump & GOP got together, they could kill or lower the COLA

It's called the third rail for a reason, touching it would zap the careers of all involved.

Trump killed the Fed pay raise (COLA) and Congress did nothing to reinstate it. There is a law that dictates the increase based on the same factors as SS, but Presidents can lower or stop it unless overridden. There was no strong political uproar because who's afraid of shafting federal workers that don't wear a uniform?

Obama froze Fed pay after the crash of '08. There was a logic behind it about shared sacrifice, but Trump just hates the deep state for knowing how feckless he really is.

[CountAllVotes]

18. Social Security COLA

In short, the COLA is based on an unusual inflation index – CPI-W – and is determined by averaging the indexes for July, August and September and comparing that number with the same average for last year. The CPI-W index for September 2018 was set at 246.565, completing the equation needed to set the 2019 COLA at 2.8%

More here (which I suggest you READ):

https://tipswatch.com/social-security-cola/

Dump is not the omnipotent dictator you are giving him the credit for. He is not quite as powerful as you seem to think. His words are words and nothing more than pure B.S. to many of us around here.

[bigbrother05]

25. The only credit he deserves is not stepping on his tie in this instance

Even numbnuts recognizes that screwing with SS could send him up in flames, not because he really cares about the folks that need the support.

There are many in the GOP (Paul Ryan for one) that want to screw with aspects of SS from raising the retirement age to tying the COLA to a different index that would reduce future increases. Don't think Trump would care what they did as long as he doesn't get blamed or could pretend that the Dems are responsible.

Bottom line: If he can screw someone over without it blowing up in his face, he's all in.

[Donkees]

7. Expand Social Security Caucus

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 – Following President Donald Trump's false claim that Democrats are trying to cut Social Security, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.), Terri A. Sewell (D-Ala.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) on Thursday announced the bicameral Expand Social Security Caucus, along with 16 senators and more than 130 House members.

"We are here today to say very loudly and very clearly that at a time when millions of seniors are trying to survive on $12,000 or $13,000 a year, our job is not to cut Social Security. Our job is to expand Social Security so that everyone in America can retire with dignity and respect," Sanders said.

“Social Security is not an entitlement. It’s the insurance that American workers have paid for. The members of this caucus will always fight for Social Security and the workers who have earned their benefits. I want to thank the House Co-Chairs Reps. Debbie Dingell, Terri Sewell, Conor Lamb and Raul Grijalva. In addition, I thank my colleagues in the Senate, Senator Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for their hard work on building the Expand Social Security Caucus in the Senate,” Larson said.

The caucus is committed to expanding Social Security, one of the most popular and successful government programs. Last year alone, Social Security lifted 22 million Americans, including more than 15 million seniors, out of poverty. Before Social Security, nearly half of the nation’s seniors were living in poverty.

A number of bills have been introduced in the Senate and House to expand Social Security, including legislation written by Sanders last year to lift the cap on taxable income that goes into Social Security, requiring the wealthiest Americans – those who make over $250,000 a year – to pay their fair share of Social Security taxes. That bill would increase Social Security benefits and extend the program’s solvency for the next 60 years.

Joining the caucus leadership Thursday were Social Security Works, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Latinos for a Secure Retirement, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the American Federation of Government Employees, the Arc of the United States, the Center for Responsible Lending and Global Policy Solutions.

Joining Sanders and Warren in the Senate caucus are Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-warren-larson-announce-expand-social-security-caucus

[CountAllVotes]

9. +1,000 !!

Thank you for posting this.

Too many people that are on SS are living in poverty.

It is a disgrace, absolutely!

[Donkees]

13. The 'Expand Social Security Caucus' is fighting for a stronger COLA

https://www.socialsecurityworks.org/


---

[at140]

17. and the Medicare deduction will go up!

and eat up most of the social security raise. Rinse and repeat.

[CountAllVotes]

19. Look above

It is going to be $134.00/month for most people.

See my post above detailing the breakdown.

[at140]

21. what is the post # ?

I did not find any info on Medicare part B deduction.

[CountAllVotes]

26. link

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2176978

[at140]

29. Thank you!

[CountAllVotes]

32. You are welcome

I think it is $129/mo. now for Part A & B Medicare.

That means the increase is $5 a month for most people.

The rich pay more and the few I know sure moan about it. Greedy SOBs! They just want more more more for me me me. They don't care about anyone else!

[saidsimplesimon]

20. So little, so late

Steve, this will not even cover the increased monthly cost for drugs.

Insurance companies get a kick back, in cash, from drug manufacturers. What drugs are approved and at what copay are influenced by more than just attempts to reduce costs or what is the most effective based on outcomes.

My RX plan is trying to use copay barriers to force patients to use generics, even those drugs new to the market with no record other than clinical trials. In my case, my income is above the so-called state poverty level, so my only option is to apply for assistance from the manufacturer. GSK (Glaxo Smith Kline) may or may not approve my application. For those without my background working for Eli Lilly, and able to manage the mounds of paperwork it is probably more difficult.

Why don't we have patient advocates?

[Donkees]

23. 'Congress should enact a better, more accurate measure of inflation for people receiving S.S.

Link to tweet

[beachbum bob]

27. Woo hoo I got a raise!!!

[doc03]

28. It's meaningless Medicare will take it back nt

[CountAllVotes]

31. Actuallly, I'll come out about $25 ahead

Husband, maybe $2-3.

Total = >$30.00/mo. @ the most.

Oh well .........