Social Security 2019 increase of 2.8%! However….
The Social Security Administration announced that the cost-of-living adjustment for 2019 will be 2.8 percent. The increase marks the biggest boost to benefits since 2012, when beneficiaries saw a 3.6 percent increase. From 2013 to 2018, the increases were 1.7%, 1.5%, 1.7%, 0.0%, 0.3%, 2.0%, respectively.
This is great.
Here’s the however…
This latest cost-of-living adjustment will not be enough to make up for the buying power Social Security benefits have lost since 2000, according to one policy group [Senior Citizens League].
Each year, the Social Security Administration assesses whether there should be an adjustment to benefits, so that their purchasing power keeps up with inflation. The agency uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, CPI-W, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Social Security benefits have lost 34 percent of their buying power since 2000, according to a study released by the Senior Citizens League in June. While benefits have increased by 46 percent through cost-of-living increases since 2000, senior expenses have risen 96.3 percent, according to the nonpartisan senior group.