Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment
What is a COLA?
Legislation enacted in 1973 provides for cost-of-living
adjustments, or COLAs. With COLAs, Social Security and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits keep pace
with inflation.
No COLA
There will be no increase in Social Security benefits
payable in January 2010, nor will there be an increase
in SSI payments.
How is a COLA calculated?
The Social Security Act specifies a formula for
determining each COLA. In general, a COLA is equal to
the percentage increase in the Consumer Price
Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
(CPI-W) from the third quarter of one year to the third
quarter of the next. If there is no increase, there is
no COLA.
COLA Computation
For the December 2009 COLA, we measure the increase (if
any) in the average CPI-W from the third calendar
quarter of 2008 to the third quarter of 2009. These
averages are 215.495 and 211.001 for the third calendar
quarters of 2008 and 2009, respectively, and are derived
from monthly CPI-Ws developed by the
Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
|
Month |
CPI-W
for— |
| 2008 |
2009 |
| July |
216.304 |
210.526 |
| August |
215.247 |
211.156 |
| September |
214.935 |
211.322 |
| Total |
646.486 |
633.004 |
Average (rounded
to the nearest 0.001) |
215.495 |
211.001 |
Because there is no increase in the CPI-W from the
third quarter of 2008 through the third quarter of 2009,
there is no COLA. |
