Tag: inflation

With the release of the September CPI-W inflation number, the Social Security Administration announced that the COLA for 2024 will be 3.2 percent (see Figure 1). The adjustment is based on the increase in the CPI-W for the third quarter of 2023 over the third quarter of 2022. Some bemoan that this year’s COLA is…

The formula for calculating Social Security benefits recognizes that it’s more difficult for lower-paid workers to afford retirement. Their future retirement benefits will replace a higher percentage of their earnings than, say, a corporate executive will receive. But workers in similar jobs who live in expensive coastal cities are at a disadvantage: steep housing costs…