The latest consumer price index data, released Tuesday, shows that prices have risen by 4.0% over the past 12 months while increasing 0.1% in May. This is down from a 0.4% increase during April, showing a modest decrease in inflation.
Based on this data, The Senior Citizens League estimates the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2024 will be 2.7%. This is far below the near-record 8.7% COLA for 2023.
Mary Johnson, the league's Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, bases monthly COLA estimates on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as the CPI-W.
Since January of this year, Johnson tells ThinkAdvisor, the actual inflation rate, as measured by the CPI-W, was lower than the amount older Americans received in their 8.7% COLAs. That difference theoretically should provide a modest temporary improvement in buying power for a retiree, with average monthly benefits now standing just shy of $1,700.
Inflation, however, was so severe in 2021 and 2022 that the average Social Security benefit fell behind by more than $1,000, leaving 53% of retirees doubting they will recover from the shortfall, based on polling data published by the league.
COLA Insights: May 2023 Inflation Data
The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly increase in prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, followed by an increase in the index for used cars and trucks. The food index increased 0.2% in May after being unchanged in the previous two months.
The index for the food at home category rose 0.1% over the month, while the index for food away from home rose 0.5%. The energy index, in contrast, declined 3.6% in May as the major energy component indexes fell.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4% in May, as it did in April and March.
