Tag: cost-of-living

Hand holding magnifying glass and looking at house model, house

Abstract This paper uses the Health and Retirement Study to explore how local cost-of-living affects Social Security replacement rates and household behavior.  In theory, labor markets with high cost-of-living also offer more compensation.  If this compensating differential is paid in wages, rather than benefits, it reduces the share of earnings replaced by Social Security due to t…

Man shopping with a list

The time has come to speculate about Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023. Automatic indexing of benefits to keep up with rising prices is a wonderful feature of our Social Security program.  Since the COLA first affects benefits paid after Jan. 1, Social Security needs to have figures available before the end of 2022…