New legislation, the Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act, would increase Social Security benefits by $200 per month to account for inflation.
The bill, S. 3078, introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would provide economic recovery payments to recipients of Social Security, supplemental security income, railroad retirement benefits, and veterans disability compensation or pension benefits. The $200 benefit boost would last for six months, starting Jan. 1.
"Social Security beneficiaries, who are on fixed incomes, are facing rising prices every time they go to the grocery store or pay their utility bill," Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said Thursday in an email.
"Social Security's modest benefits are essential, but they aren't keeping up with these exploding costs," Altman said. "Moreover, Medicare and ACA premiums are skyrocketing, eating up most or all of the modest 2.8% cost of living adjustment. For all of these reasons, the Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act is so important."
The 2026 Social Security COLA of 2.8%, announced Oct. 26, will amount to, on average, a $56 per month boost in retirement benefits starting in January.
Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, agreed that the "extremely modest 2026 Social Security COLA, much of which will be consumed by higher Medicare premiums and other out-of-pocket health costs, makes this legislation even more necessary.”
Another bill, introduced Oct. 28, the Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act, calls on the Social Security Administration to adjust benefits based on either the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners, or CPI-W, or the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, or CPI-E — whichever is greater.
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