Social Security recipients could get biggest cost-of-living bump in decades

(WPRI) — Some relief may be coming to retirees and others collecting social security.

Each year, the Social Security Administration announces how checks will be impacted by the cost of living based on the economy that year, and one advocacy group for senior citizens is projecting a 6.1% increase in 2022 due to surging inflation.

That would be the biggest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) hike since 1983.

In 2021, recipients received one of the lowest COLA increases in years, an increase of 1.3%, or just about $20 more a month for retirees, for example. Meanwhile, prices for gas and groceries are on the rise.

In June alone, inflation jumped 5.4% from the year before as the country rapidly started to reopen amid the pandemic.

The Social Security Administration announces in October what recipients’ paychecks will look like for the following year. The cost of living adjustment is based on inflation data from the three months prior.

If inflation slows down before then, the adjustment could be less than the 6.1% predicted by the Senior Citizens League advocacy group.

Nearly 70 million Americans — including retired, disabled or survivors of deceased workers — receive security benefits.

Workers pay into the system with each paycheck.