It's Official: No Social Security Increase

Oct. 15, 2009— -- Older Americans had dreaded hearing the news for months -- and today the government made it official: For the first time since 1975, there will be no cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Americans receiving Social Security checks next year.

Under the law, Social Security payments are supposed to increase annually if U.S. consumer prices increase. But over the past 12 months, prices have declined. Specifically, the CPI-W -- the price index upon which Social Security adjustments are based -- has dropped 1.7 percent since September 2008.

Many, including President Obama, the AARP and the Social Security Administration itself, are calling for Congress to approve a $250 stimulus payment to older Americans and other groups, including veterans and those receiving disability benefits, to compensate for the lack of a COLA.

"This additional assistance will be especially important in the coming months, as countless seniors and others have seen their retirement accounts and home values decline as a result of this economic crisis," Obama said.

Rising health care costs pose another serious challenge for older Americans, who tend to use health care services more often than younger Americans.

"It is no question that it will be a hardship for individuals who are going to continue to see an increase in their out-of-pocket health care expenses to not have a cost-of-living increase in Social Security," Cristina Martin Firvida, director of economic security for AARP, told ABCNews.com recently.

Last year, when food and energy costs were squeezing wallets across the country, older Americans saw a jump in benefits. Social Security Administration increased payments by 5.8 percent.

But by April of this year, dropping consumer prices led the Congressional Budget Office to predict there would be no adjustment for 2010.

The notion of the government's keeping Social Security payments static may bring some cheer to those worried that the system is headed for bankruptcy.

But it's of little comfort for older people who need the money now.

Sylvia Schneider, 80, of New York City, says her monthly Social Security check is her primary form of income. The average monthly benefit is just over $1,050 this year, according to the Social Security Administration.

"The government has a right not to increase it. I understand that," Schneider said. But, she said, she's still worried about making ends meet.

The problem, critics say, is that the metric the Social Security Administration relies on to determine increases in benefits isn't tailored to the elderly.