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Social Security News
Senior Citizen Advocates Think Social Security
Increase Not Much Help with Medicare Increases
Senior Citizen League says Medicare premiums going
up five times faster that COLA
 Oct. 17, 2007 – Most news reports emphasized the
smallness of the Social Security COLA for 2008 – a monthly increase of
2.4 percent – while most advocacy groups were bemoaning the small
increases in Social Security income matched against the growing costs of
Medicare for senior citizens.
Below is a sampling of comments and opinions.
2008 Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment
Announcement
Issued by The Senior Citizens League
Five Million Seniors Remain in Poverty Despite
Today’s 2008 Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment Announcement
Medicare Premiums Have Skyrocketed 93 Percent
Since 2001, Five Times Faster Than COLA Increases
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Social Security Announces $24 Monthly Benefit
Increase for Average Senior Citizen in 2008
Rate increase of 2.3% is smallest since 2004, follows
Medicare Part B 3.1% premium increase
 Oct. 17, 2007 – The cost of living adjustment for
Social Security – commonly called “COLA” – will go up only 2.3 percent
in 2008, the smallest increase since 1904, which adds just $24 to the
average retired senior citizen’s wallet. It is, however, even less than
that after seniors pay for the increases in Medicare fees and
deductibles for 2008. The COLA announcement was made today by the Social
Security Administration.
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Social Security
News |
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October 17, 2007 (Washington, DC) – Earlier today,
the Social Security Administration announced that seniors will receive
an additional 2.3 percent in their Social Security checks beginning in
January, 2008. That represents the lowest increase in four years.
But despite the increase, at least five million
people aged 65 and over will remain in poverty, since costs are rising
significantly faster than the annual Social Security Cost of Living
Adjustment (COLA).
Between 2001 and 2008, Medicare Part B premiums
will have soared by more than 93 percent while the COLA will have crept
up just 19 percent, leaving many seniors on their own to cover all other
rising costs. Part B premiums cover doctors’ visits, tests, and
outpatient hospital care.
Although the COLA is intended to help seniors keep up with inflation, a
recent study by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) that analyzed eight
key expenditures found that people 65 and over have lost 40 percent of
their buying power since 2000. Expenses such as home heating oil and
gasoline have more than doubled since the beginning of the decade, while
food staples such as potatoes and butter have increased by 47 and 39
percent, respectively.
A majority of the 48 million Americans aged 65 and
over who receive a Social Security check depend on it for at least 50
percent of their total income, and one in three beneficiaries relies on
it for 90 percent or more of their total income.
“Social Security is supposed to protect seniors in
need – but with five million seniors below the poverty line, it’s clear
the system is failing them,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of
The Senior Citizens League. “An annual increase of two percent just
isn’t enough to shield seniors from costs that are rising by double
digits.”
To help offset the cost of Medicare Part B, TSCL is
lobbying for a change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) used to
determine the COLA. The government currently calculates the COLA based
on the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a
slow-rising index that tracks the spending habits of younger workers who
don’t spend as much of their income on health expenditures.
However, the government also tracks the spending
patterns of older Americans with the CPI for Elderly Consumers, or
CPI-E. By tying the annual increase in the COLA to the CPI-E, seniors
would see much needed relief in their monthly checks.
For example, a senior who retired with a benefit of
$460 in 1984 would have received almost $10,300 more over the past 23
years with the CPI-E.
TSCL supports two similar bills in the current
Congress, H.R. 1953 and H.R. 2032, entitled “The Consumer Price Index
for Elderly Consumers.”
COLA Increase Doesn't Keep Up With Rising
Healthcare Costs for America's Seniors
From
The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
The Social Security Administration has announced a
2.3% cost of living adjustment for the more than 50 million Americans
receiving Social Security in 2008. This adds about $22.00 to the
average monthly Social Security check of just over $1,000 and is the
lowest increase in four years.
"Rising healthcare costs, including Medicare Part B
premiums and prescription drug costs, have outpaced Social Security
cost-of-living increases for years. Part B premiums alone have more
than doubled since 2000. Combine that with high energy and food costs
and you can see why seniors are feeling the pinch. COLA's are
critically important to help seniors maintain a basic standard of
living.
“However, as long as we continue to ignore the need
for system-wide healthcare reform, Social Security COLA increases will
continue to fall short for America's seniors, disabled and their
families," said Barbara B. Kennelly, President/CEO.
Statement Issued by AARP on the 2008 Social
Security Cola
October 17, 2007
Washington, DC – David Sloane, AARP’s Director of
Government Relations and Advocacy, made the following statement in
response to the announcement of the 2008 Social Security Cost of Living
Adjustment:
“The Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment
(COLA) is often the only protection for millions of Americans against
inflation. The COLA increase makes sure that all beneficiaries,
especially older Americans, have at least one source of income that
rises with inflation, and the 2.3 percent increase for 2008 will help
many Americans keep up with rising costs.
“Today’s COLA announcement is yet another reminder
that Social Security continues to be the central and stable pillar in
the life-time financial security of every generation of Americans. In
fact, just under one in three older Americans count on Social Security
for nearly all of their income, and almost two-thirds of beneficiaries
count on Social Security for at least half of their income.
“While essential, the COLA is not enough to help
many beneficiaries keep up with the skyrocketing costs of health care,
energy and food. This announcement, coming just days after the first of
78 million baby boomers applied for Social Security benefits, also
reminds us of the importance of ensuring the long-term solvency of this
critical program. AARP wants to ensure that the base of security
provided by Social Security will continue for generations to come.
“AARP is working to bring political, corporate and
other leaders together to overcome the stalemate in Washington to find
broad, bipartisan solutions for the two most important issues facing our
members and all Americans – lifetime financial security and affordable
health care.
“That means working to solve our country’s biggest
long-term fiscal problem – the rising cost of health care – and
strengthening Social Security in a way that is fair for every
generation.”
Social Security Check Hike to be Smaller
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
Oct. 17, 2007 - Come January, the nation's nearly
50 million Social Security recipients will see the smallest
cost-of-living increases in their monthly checks in four years, even
though they are paying significantly more for such items as food, energy
and medical care.
Go to AP story on Yahoo
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