Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will not increase in 2011, according to the Social Security Administration (http://www.ssa.gov/) in a report published October 15, 2010 Benefits will have now not increased for two years on the trot.
The Social Security Act provides for automatic increases in Social Security and SSI benefits if there is an increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the previous year. a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was determined to the third quarter of the current year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics determined that there is no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2008, the last year a COLA was determined, to the third quarter of 2010, therefore, under existing law, there can be no COLA in 2011. Inflation levels have been very low since the beginning of the Recession in 2008,
But there is some good news for wage earners with income over $106,800. Since there is no COLA, the Social Security Act also prohibits a change in the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax ($106,800) as well as the retirement earnings test exempt amounts. These amounts will remain unchanged in 2011.
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