Social Security's cost-of-living increase for 2023 would be largest in 40 years.

[Beachnutt]

cnbc
Social Security beneficiaries who are struggling with high prices may get welcome news when the cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 is announced.
The Senior Citizens League’s latest estimate points to an 8.7% increase next year.
snip
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/social-security-may-offer-largest-cost-of-living-adjustment-in-40-years.html

[WarGamer]

1. Possibly because inflation is at a 40 year high, also?

[jimfields33]

3. I'm not on Social Security yet. But that doesn't sound like enough to me.

I am going to be on in 15 years and I certainly hope they do a better job at giving increases. The problem is Medicare will take half of it away at least. I think Congress should stop that.

[WarGamer]

5. here's the #1 problem with SS

The base benefit is catfood and cardboard box level.

Let's say you started working fast food at 18... until you were 21 when you went off to school then got married at 25, pregnant at 26, knocked out 3 kids... raised them until you were 47... went to work at 48 for 4 years and then your parents got sick and you took care of them until you were 55.

At 55 you can't find anything other than crap jobs and take early retirement at 62.

With just a dozen years of low wage employment, your SS check will be... around $700/mo

We need a guaranteed minimum SS payment of around $1500/mo annually adjusted for inflation.

[jimfields33]

6. I agree. But I would make that 2000 a month minimum.

I think it’s crap to say that Social Security wasn’t meant for living on it. With pensions gone and savings very low, I think there are quite a few on Social Security that are living on it. First thing they need to do is raise the cap at least 250,000. There’s no reason why they haven’t. Bosses shouldn’t be able to come out in August and say they’re finished paying Social Security for the year to their workers. I’ve had bosses that did just that. What a way to piss everybody off.

[WarGamer]

7. Oh yes 100%

[llmart]

9. And it's mostly older women who live on Social Security alone.

They have a history of working at low paying jobs, taking time out for child rearing, finding themselves single in their senior years. I stayed home with my two children for 15 years and when I did work, I started out when I was 17 and made $1.75 an hour at a law firm as a "Gal Friday". Don't you just love that term? Basically, you did whatever the attorneys asked you to do. When I left there I got a "better" job making $350 a month gross as a secretary. If it weren't for the fact that I was married for a long time, my Social Security wouldn't be enough to pay basic bills.

[MOMFUDSKI]

14. Just part of the whole, ugly plan.

Can't beat this system unless you have live-in lawyers and accountants and make a bazillion dollars per year. Rant over.

[Grasswire2]

20. there is a potential remedy for that DISCRIMINATION.

It's called "Social Security Care Credits" -- work credits to be issued for periods when a worker must leave the work force to care for those at home, whether children or seniors.

If you hire someone to care for your family member at home, that person gets SS work credits for it.

If you leave your job to do that care yourself, you get NOTHING toward retirement for that.

Discriminatory. Home work is work, too.

Please consider recommending this measure with your elected representatives.

[MichMan]

11. How much a month should someone contributing for 40 years get?

If someone working a handful of years gets $1500 per month?

Another question. What about someone who contributed for several years, but then took on cash paying jobs and evaded paying into the system for decades?

[WarGamer]

13. like now... have a set number of quarters... like 50

Hit 50 quarters and your minimum benefit is $1500 or even 2k a month.

SS isn't a 401k...

It's a floor establish so our seniors don't eat cat food.

Maybe the person who worked 15 years at crap wages gets 1500... the guy who worked 40 years as an engineer will get 2800... but he has a pension and 401k, etc....

[MichMan]

24. People who worked for cash under the table and evaded SS taxes should get zilch

[WarGamer]

31. The way it works today is they count quarters you worked and paid SS taxes.

And if you hit the minimum number of working quarters... I think it's like 50?? (12 yrs working) you get the smallest benefit.

That MINIMUM benefit needs to be larger.

[fescuerescue]

39. That is very anti-immigrant though

They should get SS too.

[MichMan]

47. Why, since they paid nothing into the system.

People can always get a TIN and pay SS taxes. Others would prefer to cheat the system.

Edit: Many ,many Immigrants pay into SS and Medicare same as everyone else earning a paycheck. Others, including immigrants and people born here choose to circumvent the system by evading taxes.

What makes you believe that they should be entitled to the same benefits as those who are paying taxes?

[oldsoftie]

23. You don't have to avoid taxes to see reduced payments.

When I got laid off at 54 I continued working for just ME instead of "starting over" at that age. But almost all of my income isn't considered "social security income". So my first check will be a lot lower than friends who stay employed at a so-called "regular" job until they retire

[MichMan]

26. People working regular jobs (and their employers) pay SS taxes every week

People working for themselves are required to contribute 15% in SS taxes and submit it to the IRS themselves.

[oldsoftie]

36. Well they've never asked for it & my tax preparer hasn't sent it. I always wondered why.

And my SS account shows my "SS income" for each year & its always LOW. I'm assuming they're basing that on my returns.
So who knows WTH is going on. Seems like if my taxes were being done wrong the IRS would've said something in the past 8 years. When I read the IRS instruction page its like reading Klingon so I need to call the preparer and see what's up.

But your point about evading taxes is a good one; its very easy to NOT pay what you should when you don't get a 1099 or a W2. And that covers a LOT of professions and a TON of money. Thats why we need a sales tax too.

[fescuerescue]

41. That number is based on your SS withholding that your employer does

Because your SS base isn't the same as your income tax base.

If it's low, it's because your employer didn't report and pay his half the SS tax on your earnings.

It's something that you can dispute, but it's difficult because most people do't have decades of pay stubs.

[oldsoftie]

45. Thats just it; I don't have an employer that would withhold. "self employed"

[fescuerescue]

46. ah ok. Then it does comes from the tax return

The part where you pay the self-employment tax.

[MichMan]

48. If you are self employed and not paying SS and Medicare taxes

Your tax preparer is likely facilitating breaking tax laws. You might want to straighten that out before you get hit with penalties.

[oldsoftie]

49. I do remember seeing the Medicare charge. But I have to check on the SS.

[KentuckyWoman]

28. We need to push hard to get SS credits for caregivers

Women are especially hit hard by the financial sacrifices to care for an ill or aging family member. How to survive when it is their turn to be too old to work should not even be part of the worries. It is a public service. It should be publicly supported.

Include access to medical care benefits if needed too. A sick caregiver helps no one.

[doc03]

17. Medicare is going down $5.20 a month next year

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/heres-how-much-medicare-premiums-and-deductibles-will-cost-in-2023/

[jimfields33]

18. Oh that's great to hear. I am really thankful for that for those on Social Security

And I sincerely thank you for letting everybody know here. It’s about time that people get to keep their full Social Security raise.

[Kingofalldems]

35. Yep.

[Lucinda]

2. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[Beachnutt]

4. Another link from today

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3684997-heres-what-the-white-house-is-expecting-tomorrows-social-security-cola-increase-to-be/

[Lovie777]

8. GQP want to quash it ....

if they control the house it's a strong possibility they will try. GQP hate to share.

[Turbineguy]

10. But wouldn't it be better

to give taxcuts to the rich?

[Beachnutt]

12. Watch it pal....

[Stinky The Clown]

15. How about we stop taxing SS?

[jimfields33]

16. Definitely! That should be a priority for the House and Senate.

[doc03]

19. I have been complaining about that for years and get flamed every time. Seems if we

we have a pension and/or some savings we deserve to get taxed twice. Think about it if you get a pension it gets
taxed and it also subjects an equal amount of your SS to tax. We should be punished for having a job that had a
pension plan or we saved for our retirement.

[honest.abe]

22. Indeed. It feels excessive and unfair.

Why make it even more difficult for seniors??

[Beachnutt]

27. Yes

[honest.abe]

21. This is going to be a nice bump for us.

I am getting close to the max for my age group at FRA and I also have a kid less than 18 years old who also gets SS. Definitely helps us.

[niyad]

25. I am thrilled. So a person getting 1,000/ month will get 87. A person getting

750 will get 65. And food prices have gone up an average of 13-40 percent. And utilities. and gas.

and the qpukes will bitch. But billionaires got a trillion dollars worth of tax cuts.

And let's stop penalizing people collecting SS who work, or get a little bit of extra money. Ss was meant to be a floor, not a ceiling.

[GreenWave]

29. And let's do beat the hell out of Wall Street vultures

Over the years I have put in and my boss has put in way more into those stupid retirement accounts than went to SS. But it looks like I will make 3 times more with SS,

[Rebl2]

30. I had to

take SS disability at 21 years of age. Am now 65 and I got $800 at the beginning of this year and then when I went on part B Medicare (never took it when I first got on SS. only on A.) and my SS dropped to 630. That really hurt. I don’t know how much it will help me, but will definitely help my husband. Hope Medicare price doesn’t go up a lot.

[honest.abe]

32. Someone upstream said part B will drop a bit.

That would be nice.

Here’s the link..

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/heres-how-much-medicare-premiums-and-deductibles-will-cost-in-2023/

[panader0]

33. Lift the cap. It's currently $147,000. Any monies earned after that amount are not subject to

Social Security payments. In other words, most of the real wealth income does not pay in to SS. Lift the cap and
there would be a small fortune in SS funds. how about just raising the cap to $400,000, the amount our POTUS
set as the tax limit.

[Patterson]

34. 40 years? Wouldn't that be under Reagan?

[oldsoftie]

38. Remember in Reagans first term Int rates were well over 10%. High inflation.

[MichMan]

50. Inflation rate in 1980 was 13.5 %

High inflation played a big role in Reagan defeating Jimmy Carter after just one term.

[oldsoftie]

37. And do away with the income cap too. That'll help SS

[Emile]

40. Great, now if Medicare didn't take our cost of living

raise. . .

[moonscape]

44. Exactly!

[Johnny2X2X]

42. COLA

Reminder, Republicans have fought tooth and nail against any cost of living allowance increases. They fought having them at all, the fought pegging it to CPI, then they tried to decrease it in a number of ways.

[Victor_c3]

43. Many other benefits are tied to this COLA increase too

Veteran Disability payments and Federal Employee Retirement System Disability (FERSD) to name two others.

To top that off, I’m done paying my ex-wife alimony in 9 months. Overall, this will be a huge year for my finances!