SSI Cost of Living Adjustments Set at $100

• Author: Bennie West
• Posted: 2024-05-25

COLA is an acronym that stands for "cost of living allowance," and it's basically the federal government increasing social security income (SSI) payments in an attempt to offset the rising costs of goods and services both in the United States and overseas. According to the federal government, the average retired senior on SSI was receiving around $1,500 throughout 2021, which was up a lot from the $1,200 average at the beginning of 2020.

The issue, however, isn't necessarily the amount of money seniors are receiving as an SSI benefit, but rather what that money actually purchases for them. The official line is that inflation is 6% throughout America, though that's an aggregation of all consumer prices. The things seniors rely on, like groceries and fuel, are up over 30%, and so a few percentage points in benefit increase doesn't really help balance the scales.

SSI payments given to seniors is money that these seniors have technically earned. Throughout the entire duration of their working tenure as Americans, they have been taxed a lot toward their potential SSI benefits. Some argue that seniors should be receiving at least $4k a month, but it isn't even close to that number. Even with a new COLA increase set to come at the very start of 2022 (in a month's time), it just isn't enough. This year's COLA increase is only $100. So, no matter what your particular bracket, if you're a senior on SSI benefits, you will only be receiving a $100 increase.

What makes this worse is that COLA and COL (normal cost of living) are being folded in together here. So, for all of 2022, that $100 increase is all the government is expected to provide, despite inflation continuing to soar.

 

Benefits Not Keeping Up

Senior benefits are simply not keeping up with the economy of the nation. America constantly deals with protests and rallies and huge stories about young people demanding a living wage. They claim that their labor is being exploited by greedy corporations and a do-nothing government that just sits back and watches the unfair society play out. Well, imagine that you worked in this economy for 30, 40, even 50 years or more, and once you retire, you still cannot earn that so-called living wage through your retirement benefits.

This is what most seniors are dealing with now. Instead of the government allowing them to keep more of their labor earnings to personally invest into their future, the United States federal government took it upon itself, without the permission of anyone, to play the country's personal financial adviser for every citizen. Now, when citizens need a return on their investment, the government drops a few pennies into people's accounts and pretends to be helping.

 

Welfare is Increasing, Just Not for Seniors

The odd thing here with SSI benefit increases for seniors is that other demographics are seeing much more of an increase. For instance, people on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as "food stamps," have received a 25% increase. A 25% increase in COLA relative to the SSI payment would definitely help more.

That would be more like a $300 increase instead of $100, which would be over $2,000 more per year. That's more groceries, more utility bills paid, etc. Section 8 housing has also increased and has been extended out to a few hundred thousand more people. But not SSI. That remains relatively stagnant, with a $100 increase to give the appearance as if the government wants to help.

 

Government Suggests Coupling to Survive

Instead of allotting more money for SSI benefits, the government has instead floated out some literature and has suggested that maybe seniors need to start living together and pooling their money. So, basically, people who worked all their lives to build their own independence and their own sense of dignity are supposed to start living in private senior communes now in order to afford to live.

Basically, this is the government suggesting that retired seniors live like young twenty-somethings in Seattle, with five people in a single-room pod just to afford the massive rent increases. This is entirely undignified and many seniors are rightfully upset to hear that this is the government's solution.

For seniors out there who really need SSI increases, it appears as if they will have to wait yet another year to see if the government finally remembers their contribution to the nation. For now, $100 is all they get.