As inflation spikes, Social Security cost-of-living bump could reach 10.5%, report says
CBSN
Senior citizens and others who rely on Social Security payments will likely receive a big cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in early 2023, given that the annual hike is based on inflation. But the question is: How big of a boost, and will it actually offset an inflation rate that just reached a fresh 40-year high?
Consumer prices in June surged 9.1% over the past 12 months — exceeding the forecast from economists for an 8.8% increase. The price hikes were broad-based: Gasoline, food, rent and medical care all rose in June, the government report said on Wednesday.
Because of June's higher-than-expected jump, it's likely seniors will receive a 10.5% adjustment to their Social Security checks in early 2023, the Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group for older Americans, said on Wednesday.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.