No increase in Social Security, SSI benefits for 2016
JACKSON, Tenn. — For only the third time since 1975, Social Security recipients will not see a cost-of-living increase for the upcoming year, the government announced Thursday. There usually is an annual increase to prevent inflation from affecting the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income, according to the Social Security website. Consumer prices are down over the past year, meaning the Social Security and SSI benefits for nearly 65 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2016. This is the third time since the automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975 that recipients will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment. Whether benefits will increase is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from the third quarter of the last year a cost-of-living adjustment was determined to the third quarter of the current year, according to the website. If there is no increase, there can be no cost-of-living adjustment.
