WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will increase by 1.5 percent in 2014, benefiting nearly 63 million Americans. Following the announcement, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) offered the following statement:
“More than two million Ohioans will see their Social Security benefits increase next year, but many seniors are still struggling to make ends meet,” Brown said. “Seniors have spent a lifetime paying into Social Security. As the cost of living continues to rise, and the budgets of many seniors already stretched to the breaking point, we should continue to ensure that seniors receive the benefits they have earned. Congress needs to do more to ensure that our seniors can continue to retire with dignity.”
The cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 1.5 percent will be applied to benefits received by more than 57 million Social Security beneficiaries starting on January 14. More than 8 million beneficiaries will see payments beginning December 31 of this year.
In 2011, Brown joined the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM) to announce the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act. The legislation would change the COLA formula for Social Security to more accurately reflect the expenses of senior citizens. Because of the method by which inflation is calculated, seniors and other Social Security recipients did not receive a COLA in 2010 and 2011, even though the price of prescription drugs, food, energy, and other necessities continued to rise.
Brown also supports the Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013, legislation that would increase benefits and extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund which nearly two in three Americans rely on for at least half of their income in old age. Specifically, the bill would:
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