The steadily shrinking Social Security check

As we all know, the dollar amount on Social Security checks was unchanged in 2010.  It continues unchanged in 2011.  No COLA either year.

What that dollar buys is not unchanged.  Everybody knows that the prices of daily necessities continue to rise.  That amounts to a significant reduction in buying power, and thus in the living standards, of the millions of retirees, survivors and people with disabilities who depend on a monthly check from the nation’s premier public insurance program.

It will take a whopping adjustment in 2012 to make up for the serious erosion, over two years, of a Social Security check’s buying power.

The for-profit health insurance companies make the situation worse.  Many seniors find their Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage premiums increasing year after year.

There’s widespread recognition that the Social Security COLA formula for elders should be fundamentally revamped to reflect today’s economic realities, especially the continued increases in out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

Tell your Congress members:  Both an accurate formula and unfailing annual adjustments are essential to sustain the modest living standards of Social Security beneficiaries.