Social Security to rise 1.6% amid push for more benefits

WASHINGTON — Millions of retirees will get a modest 1.6% costof-living increase from Social Security in 2020, an uptick with potential political consequences in an election year when Democrats are pushing more generous inflation protection.

What it means

The increase amounts to about $24 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates released Thursday by the Social Security Administration. Following a significant boost this year, the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2020 reverts to its pattern of moderate gains.

Why it matters

The COLA affects household budgets for about 1 in 5 Americans, nearly 70 million people, and that includes Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees. Roughly 1 in 2 seniors live in households where Social Security benefits provide at least half the total income. Seniors and advocates complain that the inflation yardstick used to determine the annual adjustment doesn’t adequately reflect their costs, mainly for health care. Retirees point to increased health care premiums and copays, along with other kinds of insurance, as the main culprits.

A study by the Senior Citizens League found that Social Security benefits have lost one-third of their buying power since 2000.

“When a retiree’s actual costs climb faster than their (cost-ofliving adjustment), the buying power of Social Security erodes,” the advocacy group wrote in September.