Latest news with #COLA
Newsweek
38 minutes ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Social Security Benefits: Payment Worth Up to $5,108 Due This Week
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Another round of Social Security payments is scheduled to be made this week for beneficiaries across the country. Why It Matters The Social Security Administration pays retirement, disability and survivor benefits to more than 70 million Americans, forming a bedrock of income for those who are retired, disabled or the survivor of a deceased worker. Payments are administered on a monthly basis and paid in one lump sum for most recipients. Because of the large number of recipients, not every claimant receives their payment on the same date each month. Benefits Paid This Week On Tuesday, June 3, benefit payments are scheduled to be made to those who have been collecting checks since before May 1997 and those who also collect Supplemental Security Income benefits. Anyone who doesn't receive their payment on the expected date should allow three working days before contacting Social Security. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are not working days. A stock image of a Social Security card with U.S. dollars. A stock image of a Social Security card with U.S. dollars. GETTY How Much Is Social Security? The average Social Security retirement benefit is $1,976 per month as of January 2025, but the beneficiary's lifetime earnings and years spent paying Social Security taxes determine the actual amount. Up to $2,831 can be earned each month by retiring at age 62, and up to $4,018 can be earned by claiming at full retirement age, which is 67. The upper limit increases to $5,108 for those who wait until they are 70. Benefits increase in line with inflation every year thanks to the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). The definitive answer for how much benefits will rise next year is not set in stone and is expected to be officially announced in October. Based on current economic conditions, the Senior Citizens League (TSCL) forecasts the COLA for 2026 to be 2.4 percent, which is slightly lower than the 2.5 percent annual boost for benefits in 2025. It would also be the lowest annual increase since 2021. High inflation during the coronavirus pandemic led to considerably higher-than-average COLAs of 5.9 percent in 2022 and 8.7 percent in 2023. "If our predictions come true and the 2026 COLA comes in at the lowest we've seen since 2021, seniors will face additional pressure at a time when they're already strained financially," TSCL executive director Shannon Benton said last month in a prediction update. "Our research shows that 73 percent of American seniors rely on Social Security for at least half their income, with 39 percent depending on the program for all of their income." Further Payment Dates In June, benefits are scheduled to be paid on the following dates:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wondering What to Expect for Next Year's Social Security COLA? Here's What History Says Could Be Coming in 2026.
One historical trend points to a higher Social Security COLA in 2026. However, the Trump administration's tariffs are a big wild card. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Is it too soon to be wondering how much the next Social Security "raise" will be? I don't think so. Granted, we won't know for sure until the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes its highly anticipated announcement in mid-October. However, a little speculation a few months in advance doesn't hurt anybody. And history could provide some insight into what to expect with the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Americans have had two back-to-back years of lower Social Security COLAs after the sky-high increase of 8.7% in 2023. What has usually happened after two consecutive years of declining COLAs in the past? The historical odds point to a higher 2026 COLA. I looked back at annual Social Security COLAs since they became automatic in 1975. The Social Security increase for 1984 was lower than the previous year after two years in a row of declines. It was a similar story in 1994. However, in the other six cases, the Social Security COLA increased after two consecutive years of decreases. 2026 will be the second year under a different presidential administration than the previous two years. Have there been any clear historical trends with the COLA related to a new occupant of the Oval Office? Not really. There have been seven new presidential administrations since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. In the first full year of a new U.S. president, the Social Security COLA was higher than the previous year three times and lower than the previous year four times. Social Security COLAs are based on inflation. To be specific, they're calculated by comparing the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of the year with the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the previous year. Anything that drives inflation higher will, in turn, cause the Social Security COLA to be higher. (The COLA can be 0%, but it's never negative.) That's where President Donald Trump's tariffs come into play. Many economists believe that steep tariffs could lead to a resurgence in inflation as importers pass along higher prices to consumers. The Federal Reserve agrees. The minutes from the Fed's meeting earlier this month revealed that nearly all of the 19 officials saw a risk of higher inflation due to Trump's tariffs. What does history tell us about Social Security COLAs after steep tariffs were implemented? There aren't many precedents. The first Trump administration levied tariffs on many products imported from China, but those tariffs were much more limited than those implemented this year. Inflation and the Social Security COLA still rose, though. Perhaps the most similar previous occurrence of high tariffs came when Richard Nixon was president. In August 1971, Nixon implemented 10% tariffs for four months. However, this was before automatic annual Social Security COLAs went into effect. Still, the next Social Security increase, which required congressional action, was a whopping 20%. I don't think history is all that great of a guide in helping predict what the 2026 Social Security COLA will be. The reality is that the present is more important than the past, at least where COLAs are concerned. The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonprofit organization that advocates for seniors, updates a model used to project the next Social Security COLA every month. Its latest forecast is for a 2026 COLA of 2.4%, slightly lower than the 2.5% increase this year. This would be the lowest COLA since 2021. However, the TSCL's projection could change dramatically if tariffs cause inflation to soar. Retirees will have to keep wondering about what the 2026 COLA will be until October. If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. One easy trick could pay you as much as $23,760 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Wondering What to Expect for Next Year's Social Security COLA? Here's What History Says Could Be Coming in 2026. was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
2026 Social Security COLA Predictions: Here's What Experts Are Saying
The 2025 COLA increase of 2.5% for Social Security recipients was one of the lowest since 2021, and so far, signs are pointing to an even lower increase for next year. We're still about five months out before we get an official announcement from the Social Security Administration, so there's plenty of room for that to change -- in either direction. Experts in the field have been making predictions for the 2026 COLA since the beginning of this year, and an initial prediction of a 2.1% bump next year has been followed by a slight shift upward month by month. Whether these expert takes will match the official number remains to be seen -- especially with the economic uncertainty spurred by the Trump administration's tariffs agenda -- but we'll break down the latest for you below. I've been steeping myself in all things Social Security for the past year, writing timely articles that surface the most relevant details for existing and soon-to-be beneficiaries and their families. Even if, like me, you're a long way from retirement, staying up to date with expert takes will keep you informed for when it's time for you or your loved ones to retire. The COLA adjustment will be one of the most important announcements of the year. For more, don't miss the Social Security and SSDI cheat sheet. The cost-of-living adjustment, otherwise known as the COLA or COLA increase, is an annual change in the payment scale made by the Social Security Administration. It's pegged to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which measures the average changes in prices for consumer goods and services and is updated monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These monthly snapshots in the changes to prices of goods and services allow the SSA to see the overall average and determine the COLA for the following year as a percentage of the current payment levels. For Social Security and Supplemental Security Insurance recipients, the COLA percentage represents how much more you'll receive in monthly benefits in the new year. It takes effect Jan. 1 and stays in effect for the calendar year. The official COLA announcement typically takes place sometime in October. How the COLA is calculated has become a hot topic, given that the model sets the adjustment for the entire year ahead. The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group for older adults, last year conducted a study of 3,000 older adults. A key takeaway: 72% of respondents said that Congress should prioritize changing the COLA calculation to an index that's more reflective of the changing expenses for seniors, like the CPI-E. There are multiple government benefits that use the COLA to make adjustments. In addition to Social Security, the adjustment applies to Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to account for inflation when setting benefits. The League provides monthly predictions of what the upcoming COLA will be for the following year, and they were spot on for 2025's, predicting a 2.5% COLA. In January, the League predicted a 2.1% increase for 2026 and has adjusted that upward since then. Its latest prediction, as of April 2025, sits at 2.4%. The prediction comes after the recent executive order by the Trump administration, targeting pharmaceutical companies and pushing for cheaper drug costs. Despite the upward trend over the past few months, the League predicts the 2026 COLA to be the lowest since the 1.3% COLA in 2021. This, of course, is all subject to change, not least because of the economic uncertainty highlighted by the Trump administration's tariffs. For more, don't miss the Social Security and SSDI cheat sheet. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Don't Lose Your Social Security Benefits: These Mistakes Will Cost You
More than 70 million Americans currently rely on Social Security benefits, and countless more expect to take advantage of the program when it's their time to retire. Knowing when the best time to start collecting benefits is important, but once you've applied and your monthly payments start being sent, not much should change, outside of the annual COLA increase, which is a good thing for you. Something you might be less familiar with is how you can actually lose your benefits if you're not careful. While people pay into the Social Security system most of their working lives, these benefits aren't guaranteed for life, and you could have them taken away in certain situations. In particular, there are four things that can get your benefits terminated or suspended. Below, we'll break down the ways you can lose your benefits and whether or not you can get them back afterward. For more, don't miss the Social Security and SSDI cheat sheet. While you can still work and receive Social Security benefits, if you begin to make more than the annual income limit, your benefits may be reduced or paused completely in certain situations. The limits change depending on certain factors, like whether you're under or over the age of 62 -- the minimum retirement age. Below is an overview of the income limits imposed on specific benefits. Eligibility for SSI typically requires that you earn less than $1,971 per month from work. The limit is increased for couples, but if you exceed that limit, you may no longer be eligible for SSI. You should be notified of any benefit reduction or whether you become ineligible due to reaching the income limit. Note: For every $2 you earn from work, $1 will be reduced from your SSI payment. Working includes any job you have. You're required to promptly report changes to your monthly income and living situation. SSDI beneficiaries have more to work with when it comes to making money from work. If you get a job while receiving SSDI, you'll be able to retain your benefits for up to nine months, which the Social Security Administration calls a "work trial period." For 2024, any month you bring in over $1,110 in gross wages will count toward this nine-month trial period. Note that months don't have to be consecutive, either, but within a rolling five-year period. During these nine months, there's no limit on how much you can earn while retaining your benefits. After your work trial period, you'll enter into a 36-month "extended period of eligibility." During this time, if you exceed the EPE earnings limit, you won't qualify for your SSDI payment for that month. In 2024, the EPE limit is $1,550 per month or $2,590 for disability due to blindness. If you continue to earn over the limit after your EPE is up, your SSDI payments will cease completely, but if you can't continue to work, you can restart your benefits. In addition to an income limit, to be eligible for SSI, you need to fall under what the administration calls a "resource limit." Resources that do count toward the limit include cash, bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, US savings bonds, land, life insurance, personal property, vehicles and anything else you own that could be changed to cash and used for food or shelter, the administration said. Resources that do not count include the home you live in and the land it is on, one vehicle (if you or a member of your household use it for transportation), household goods and personal effects and life insurance policies with a combined face value of $1,500 or less. To be eligible, the SSI resource limit is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. If you exceed that limit, you need to spend down your resources to be eligible. According to a recent study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 70,000 beneficiaries on average lose their benefits each year because they exceed the limit. Congress has proposed legislation that would, for example, raise the limit to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples but so far, changes have not been signed into law. Your marital status can and will affect your Social Security benefits, and that includes getting a divorce. A few things would prevent you from collecting your ex-spouse's benefits: You weren't married for 10 years or more. If you remarry, you won't be able to get benefits from your previous marriage. This can change if your current marriage ends through divorce, annulment or the death of your partner. You qualify for benefits and the amount you receive would be more than your ex-spouse's. If you go to jail or prison, your Social Security benefits can be affected. If you're incarcerated for more than 30 days, the administration may suspend your Social Security and SSI benefits. If your benefits are suspended, you can request to have them restored for the following month after you're released from jail or prison. Something to note is that even if your benefits are suspended while incarcerated, your spouse or children will continue to receive them as long as they remain eligible. While incarcerated, your SSI benefits will be suspended, but payments will resume when you're released, and you won't have to wait until the following month. Your payment amount will be determined by your release date and would only be a partial payment. If you're in jail or prison for over 12 consecutive months, the administration will terminate your SSI benefits. When you're released, you will need to reach out to the Social Security Administration and start a new application. For more, here's the Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance payment schedules.
CNET
4 days ago
- Health
- CNET
Social Security Has a 'Maddening' New AI Phone Bot. Here's How to Deal With It
Social Security's new phone bot can be frustrating to use. Here's how to navigate it. Getty Images The Social Security Administration's new AI-powered phone bot is coming, whether you're ready for it or not -- and apparently whether it's ready or not, too. Reports out in recent days indicate that the system has been struggling to handle seemingly simple tasks for people calling in with questions. I've been covering Social Security for some time now, so I'm well aware of the challenges confronting the agency, including severe layoffs, and how those challenges affect the more than 70 million people currently receiving Social Security benefits. I've called the agency myself multiple times to see how it's responding, or failing to. In the last few days, I've put the AI phone bot to the test, and far too often, it struggled with what seemed like straightforward questions and statements I made. At issue right now is a new telecommunications system that's being rolled out across the country. It started with the agency's national phone number and is working its way out to the all field offices and card centers nationwide, and all their local phone numbers. Central to it is an automated system that incorporates unspecified AI "enhancements." Whether those enhancements will make things better over the long haul remains to be seen. Below, I'll go over the details of what's happening, my experience contacting the SSA and provide a few tips to navigate the new phone bot if you have to call in. For more, don't miss the four ways you could potentially lose your Social Security benefits. Social Security's 'maddening' AI phone bot Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported on issues plaguing the Social Security Administration, and tucked in the middle of the article were some troubling details about the phone system. The article cited a frustrating experience for Jennifer Burdick, an attorney who represents people with or applying for Social Security Disability Insurance. Burdick noted, "many times when you say 'agent' it won't put you through to the hold line, it'll act like it didn't hear what you said." One of the Post's reporters tried it out for herself, only to have a similarly frustrating and dizzying experience. She presented the bot with an issue that would more than likely need to be handled by an agent: not receiving a Social Security check in April. The reporter explained the matter to the phone bot simply and succinctly, only to receive an automated reply with information about the 2025 COLA increase, Medicare Part B information, and other benefits available to recipients -- none of which were relevant or helpful. Only after eight attempts did the system respond correctly and begin transferring the call to a person. MSNBC last week picked up the story and shared a video of the reporter's "maddening" experience. (While that video refers to the tech as a chatbot, it's really more of a classic phone bot, apparently with some AI elements but different from AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.) Read More: Social Security Check Missing? Here's What to Do I tried calling the SSA to test the AI bot's skills Spurred by those accounts, I wanted to see for myself how the phone system was working. I called in not once, but 11 different times. Mostly my experience was much more positive, but when the phone bot went wrong, it went very wrong. When I asked, "Why is my payment lower than I thought it would be for this month?" the bot completely missed my point. It replied with the maximum benefit amounts for 2025 and how payments differ by age. I tried to clarify: "I'm already receiving benefits, and only this check is lower than it typically is" -- to which it replied that the SSA checks its records between October and March to determine if an account needs an adjustment. I repeated my initial question and received the strangest answer yet: "OK, direct deposit. If you're finished, feel free to hang up. Otherwise, how can I help you today?" Yeah, that's pretty maddening. Other times, it would take a long-winded route that did eventually lead me where I wanted to go. When I said, "I didn't receive my payment last month," the bot provided the full payment schedule for the month of May in detail but followed with, "To report a missing payment, just say 'agent,'" and when I did, it correctly sent me over to the next step. My takeaway: Maybe AI is working somewhere behind the scenes, but you can't trust it to understand natural language -- the way people speak in normal conversation -- which is something that AI chatbots like Gemini Live are getting really good at, which I know from experience. The trick, I discovered, was to forget about speaking to the phone bot conversationally. Instead, I hammered home on a single word: "agent." On five separate calls, when all I did was to say "agent" whenever prompted, I got past the phone bot and into the queue to wait for an actual human agent. (Given the long wait times typical of calling the SSA, I didn't stick around after that point.) So yay! Success after all. My tips for making the phone bot work for you Here's what I'd suggest when trying to deal with Social Security's new phone system. Prioritize getting to a person, not the problem The Social Security phone bot clearly has some issues to work through. Phone systems like this are notoriously bad -- think of those times you've called customer service for, well, just about any big business -- so you shouldn't assume it's going to be as understanding as when you're speaking to a more sophisticated AI bot like Gemini Live. When the bot asks you what you need help with, just continue to say you want to speak to an agent. Keep words to a minimum I think the success I had with the phone system could have been because I kept my responses to "agent" every time I was prompted to speak. Overexplaining to an ill-equipped AI bot likely won't yield the results you want. Don't call using speakerphone If the phone system already performs poorly, don't make it worse by introducing extra noise that can further degrade the experience, like when you call on speaker phone. Stick to using headphones that have good call quality or just have the phone to your ear and speak directly into the microphone when making your requests. Your mileage still may vary Even these tips may not prevent a poor call system from interpreting your request correctly. If it begins to send you in circles, hang up and call back to see if that can get you where you need to go faster. A spokesperson for the SSA told the Washington Post that the phone bot feature is constantly improving and several factors can affect the quality of the call, including background noise, call connection and speech clarity. None of these things seemed to be an issue on the Washington Post reporter's phone call. But my experience wasn't as awful as that, so maybe the system is getting better, at least a little. For more, don't miss what the experts are predicting for the 2026 COLA increase.
