Social Security COLA Set at 1.3 Percent for 2021

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on Oct. 13 that its annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be 1.3 percent, an average boost to retirement benefits of about $20 per month for individuals starting in January.

The modest gain for monthly benefits is the latest in a decade of meager COLA increases. Social Security COLAs have averaged a 1.65 percent increase annually the past decade, with no increase at all to benefits in 2016. The increase that went into effect in January 2020 was 1.6 percent.

“Today’s announcement of a 1.3 percent COLA increase — while modest — is needed to help Social Security beneficiaries and their families try to keep up with rising costs,” says AARP Chief Executive Officer Jo Ann Jenkins. "The guaranteed benefits provided by Social Security and the COLA increase are more crucial than ever as millions of Americans continue to face the one-two punch of the coronavirus’s health and economic consequences. In fact, thanks to recently enacted changes supported by AARP to lower the Medicare premium for next year, more seniors will at least see a small monthly COLA."

Why so low?
COLAs have been low because inflation has been tame. The annual COLA is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year.

Social Security is funded by a payroll tax of 12.4 percent on eligible wages — employees pay 6.2 percent and employers pay the other 6.2 percent (with self-employed workers paying the entire 12.4 percent). Because of the growing number of Social Security beneficiaries — and, in part, a decrease in payroll taxes collected because of pandemic-driven job losses — the Social Security system is facing increased stress. In their annual report, Social Security's trustees estimated that the trust fund for retired workers and their survivors will run short of money in 2034. A more pessimistic forecast from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the reserves in the trust fund for retired workers and their survivors will be depleted in 2031. Even at that point, over three-quarters of benefits could still be paid out from incoming payroll taxes.

Social Security and Medicare Part B premiums
Most Social Security recipients will see their COLA reduced by an increase in the Medicare premium. Medicare Part B premiums, which cover physician visits and outpatient medical services, are deducted directly from Social Security benefit payments. The 2021 monthly premium for Medicaid Part B recipients is expected to be announced soon.

Under a recent change in law championed by AARP, the Medicare premium increase for this year will be reduced, thus preserving a COLA for most beneficiaries. Initially, higher emergency Medicare spending due to COVID-19 was projected to lead to very high Medicare premiums. Had the law not been changed, most beneficiaries would have seen their COLA wiped out by Part B premium increases, which for some beneficiaries were projected to be as high as $25 to $50 per month. Even with the change in law, the increases in payments to most Social Security beneficiaries are expected to be quite small.

“Social Security is arguably the most important and successful program in our nation’s history, providing vital benefits that individuals earn through a lifetime of hard work and contributions to the system,” Jenkins says. “It is the largest source of retirement income for most Americans and provides nearly all income (90 percent or more) for 1 in 4 seniors. AARP will continue advocating for bipartisan solutions to help ensure the long-term solvency and adequacy of the Social Security program, to maintain its dedicated funding stream and to protect the hard-earned benefits of millions of Americans and their families.”