Retirees set for historic COLA increase
COLA rates could see a three-decade run come to an end, and that’s good news for retirees.
Transcript
00:00I'm Conway Gittins reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
00:02Here's what we're watching on the street today.
00:04Wall Street begins a new week with a focus on economic data.
00:08Investors are keen to see if readings on consumer and producer
00:12prices nudge the Federal Reserve towards a quarter percentage point
00:16rate cut or a half percentage point rate cut in September.
00:19July retail sales will also be a key indicator
00:22on the health of the consumer and the economy overall.
00:27Good news is expected for America's retirees.
00:302025 is likely to bring a Social Security Cost of Living
00:34Adjustment, or COLA, increase that hasn't
00:37been seen in over three decades.
00:40The government won't release official numbers until October.
00:43But based on 2024's inflation data, experts
00:46predict Social Security recipients could
00:48get a raise of between 2.7% to 3.2%.
00:52A raise that big would mean four straight years of raises
00:56at or above 2.7%.
00:58That hasn't happened in 32 years.
01:02In order to determine the size of the adjustment,
01:04the Department of Health and Human Services
01:06relies on third quarter data from the Consumer Price
01:10Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers.
01:13In June, that rate was 2.9% higher than a year ago,
01:18and experts only expect it to tick down a little in coming months.
01:22The Senior Citizens League says any raise
01:25will likely be gobbled up by food prices that are still
01:28higher than they were before 2020.
01:30One dozen eggs cost 80% more, lettuce is 72% more expensive,
01:36and a pound of sugar is up by 45%.
01:39Price jumps like those have led to rising food insecurity
01:42for retirees, according to the group.
01:45A recent survey of retirees showed one third of respondents
01:49said they either visited a food pantry
01:52or applied for food stamps over the past year.
01:55That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange.
01:58I'm Conway Gittens with The Street.