Seniors will now receive a 3.2% increase in their monthly checks starting January 2024.
As of Thursday morning, millions of seniors received a slight increase in their monthly Social Security checks. The Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) gives seniors a 3.2% increase in their monthly check.
Some seniors, like 70-year-old Suzanne Mencer, say the recovery still won’t be enough to survive.
Mencer works full time because she says Social Security alone isn’t enough to survive. (Fox News/Credible)
With the cost of living rising, even the historic increase of 8.7% in 2023 was not enough due to inflation.
Mencer works full-time and has no plans to stop anytime soon: “I have never retired and, to be honest, the prospect is that I will never be able to retire.”
She says her Social Security check isn’t enough to pay her bills and live a comfortable life.
What pensioners need to know
According to the Social Security Administration, nearly 50 million retired Americans receive a check from them each month. On average, this check for 2023 is about $1,848.
On Thursday morning, the Social Security Administration announced that recipients will receive 3.2% for 2024. (Fox News/Credible)
“Somehow the total cost of living is always more than what people have. “I’ve been working at W2 jobs since I was 16 and I’m amazed that it doesn’t add up after a year,” says Mencer.
Wake Forest Finance Professor Ajay Patel says it can be a difficult situation with the new increase because the new COLA percentage reflects current inflation numbers.
“If inflation rises again for any reason, the COLA they receive will be less than the actual price increase in 2024; and that will harm them.”
But for some retirees, even a raise isn’t enough to cover all expenses. Mencer said she is seeing more seniors looking for work.
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“There are a lot of seniors out there who are looking for a way to supplement their Social Security. No, you need all the money you have to sit around and not work anymore.”
The Social Security Administration announced its 2024 cost of living adjustments on Thursday. (Fox News/Credible)
Seniors could see the new bump starting at the end of December.