web1_113065232-e6882bb856f343ed99a29fb3bcc9faa0.jpg

‘Stop whining,’ Obama tells Trump, chiding for fraud talk

web1_Rice-Township.jpg

Rice Township bridge reopens to traffic

<p>WASHINGTON &#8212; Millions of Social Security recipients and federal retirees will get a 0.3 percent increase in monthly benefits next year, the fifth year in a row that older Americans will have to settle for historically low raises. The adjustment adds up to a monthly increase of less than $4 a month for an average recipient.</p><p>The cost-of-living adjustment, announced by the government Tuesday, will affect more than 70 million people &#8212; about 1 in 5 Americans. For recipients, the average monthly Social Security payment now is $1,238.</p><p>Unfortunately for some seniors, even the small increase will probably be wiped out by an expected increase in Medicare Part B premiums, which are usually deducted from Social Security payments.</p><p>By law, rising premiums for most Medicare recipients cannot exceed their Social Security cost-of-living increase. That&#8217;s known as the &#8220;hold harmless&#8221; provision. However, new enrollees and high-income retirees are not covered by that provision, so they could face higher Medicare premiums, which will be announced later this year.</p><p>There was no Social Security benefit increase this year, and next year&#8217;s will be small because inflation is low, driven in part by cheaper fuel prices. The low inflation rate should help keep some older folks&#8217; bills from rising very rapidly.</p><p>Don&#8217;t tell that to Millicent Graves, a retired veterinary technician, who says Medicare and supplemental insurance premiums eat up nearly a third of her $929 monthly Social Security payment. The 72-year-old from Williamsburg, Virginia, says her insurance premiums went up by $46.50 this year, and her cable TV, internet and phone bill went up, too.</p><p>&#8220;I just lose and lose and lose and lose,&#8221; Graves said.</p><p>More than 60 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. The COLA also affects benefits for about 4 million disabled veterans, 2.5 million federal retirees and their survivors, and more than 8 million people who get Supplemental Security Income, the disability program for the poor. Many people who get SSI also receive Social Security.</p><p>Since 2008, the COLA has been above 2 percent only once, in 2011. It&#8217;s been zero three times.</p><p>&#8220;This loss of anticipated retirement income compounds every year, causing people to spend through retirement savings far more quickly than planned,&#8221; said Mary Johnson of the Senior Citizens League. &#8220;Over the course of a 25- or 30-year retirement, it reduces anticipated Social Security income by tens of thousands of dollars.&#8221;</p><p>The cost-of-living adjustment is based on a broad measure of prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It measures price changes for food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation and education.</p><p>If prices go up, benefits go up. If prices drop or stay flat, benefits stay the same.</p><p>Gasoline prices have fallen by more than 6 percent over the past year, according to the September inflation report, while the cost of medical care has gone up by more than 5 percent.</p><p>For seniors who don&#8217;t drive much, they don&#8217;t get the full benefit of low gas prices, said Max Gulker, a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. Many seniors spend more of their income on health care.</p><p>Graves said she appreciates lower gas prices, but the higher medical costs are a problem.</p><p>&#8220;I just have to rely more each month on cashing in investments,&#8221; Graves said. &#8220;I&#8217;m lucky I can do that.&#8221;</p><p>Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has embraced the idea of expanded benefits for certain low-income retirees. She says the nation would pay for it by raising taxes on &#8220;the highest-income Americans.&#8221;</p><p>Breaking with other Republicans, GOP nominee Donald Trump has pledged not to cut benefits. However, he has offered few specifics on how he would address Social Security&#8217;s long-term financial problems.</p><p>Social Security is financed by a 12.4 percent tax on the first $118,500 of a person&#8217;s annual wages, with the worker paying half and the employer paying the other half. The amount of wages subject to the payroll tax will go up to $127,200 next year, the Social Security Administration said.</p><p>About 173 million workers will pay Social Security taxes next year &#8212; about 12 million of them will face higher taxes because of the higher cap, the agency said.</p><p>___</p><p>Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Ricardo Alonzo-Zaldivar contributed to this report.</p><p>___</p><p>Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter at http://twitter.com/stephenatap</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_113063502-f136b2e5aec64e6fa0a6159a1a772d96.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, the Social Security Administration&#8217;s main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md. Millions of Social Security recipients and federal retirees will get only tiny increases in benefits next year, the fifth year in a row that older Americans will have to settle for historically low raises. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_113063502-f136b2e5aec64e6fa0a6159a1a772d96.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, the Social Security Administration&#8217;s main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md. Millions of Social Security recipients and federal retirees will get only tiny increases in benefits next year, the fifth year in a row that older Americans will have to settle for historically low raises. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Stephen Ohlemacher</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>ON THE WEB</strong></p><p>Find a Social Security Interactive hosted by the Associated Press at <a href="http://tlgets.me/k16" target="_blank">http://tlgets.me/k16</a>.</p></factboxMeta></div>

$4 a month? Social Security recipients to get tiny increase in 2017