Social Security Benefits to Rise 5.8%

Due to a sharp rise in the cost of living adjustment this year, the Social Security Administration is increasing benefits for Americans by 5.8%, the biggest increase since 1982. On average, that will mean an increase of $63 a month. 

In 1982, the administration gave recipients a 7.4% increase. This year, it was 2.3%.

 

But given the increase in fuel and food prices this year, the amount won’t go very far for most people, the Associated Press reports.

 

“Right now, many senior citizens are feeling depressed because things seem out of control,” Sung Won Sohn, a economics professor at the Smith School of Business at California State University, told the AP. “They feel like they are in a board being whipped around by rough seas. Their purchasing power has been going down because of higher prices for food and energy, while their savings have taken a hit because of what is happening in the markets.”

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Mutual funds Money Management Executive
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING