No Paycheck Increase for 2016 Social Security Payments

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For the third time in forty years, more than 70 million people on social security won’t see an increase in their checks next year.

KVRR’s Sarah Brechbill tells us what this means for our local seniors.

Phil Larson has been on social security for 22 years, counting on every check.

“Oh it’s deposited directly,” says Larson, who is from Fargo.

But it’s the third time since 2010 that benefits will remain the same.

“We don’t know how much it will hit us yet but it will hit us,” says Alan Richter.

“And low gas prices may be to blame. With low gas prices, inflation stays the same. And when inflation doesn’t go anywhere, neither do your benefits.”

“We see it all in the grocery bills, we see it in everything else we gotta buy,” says Richter.

“It’s foolish for us to assume that for many of our seniors their cost of living hasn’t gone up. It’s just a product of how it’s calculated,” says Senator Heidi Heitkamp.

“But with no social security raise, seniors can expect raises elsewhere, in medical costs.”

“Your social security, Medicare part is going up and no increase in it. So we’re looking at a big, big jump.”

And to add to the mix…

“A lot of our seniors have retirements in instruments that are safe and those instruments tend to be interest bearing. When we don’t have higher interest rates, that limits their income,” says Heitkamp.

Some tough news for seniors, hoping these flat rates aren’t here to stay. Sarah Brechbill, KVRR news.

According to CNN, the typical retiree’s benefit is about $1,300 a month.

That’s $22 more than last year.