Since inflation has exceeded increases in their payments this year, seniors and other Social Security recipients in the U.S. are being hammered particularly hard. Now, some politicians are proposing to increase Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year for each beneficiary while simultaneously strengthening the program’s financial position.
On June 9, Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, and Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon, proposed the Social Security Expansion Act. The initiative was announced after the Social Security Administration earlier this month warned that if nothing is done to strengthen the program, Americans may no longer get their full Social Security payments in around 13 years.
Stimulus Check Available For Seniors
The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, that Social Security recipients get annually is based on inflation and is intended to keep their payments consistent with growing prices. Beneficiaries’ buying power is declining this year as inflation outpaces their most recent COLA rise of 5.9 percent.
May had a four-decade high for inflation, which increased the price of food, housing, energy, and other essentials. The program’s objective is to aid elderly adults in their financial recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic and to lessen their financial burden from the current economic depression. The initiative is expected to cost $5.5 million, which will be paid for from the county’s financial balance.
According to county legislators, some 27,500 homeowners in the county are eligible for Enhanced STAR and will be given the $200 Stimulus Checks. You must be a landowner at least 65 years old with a family income of less than $92,000 in order to be eligible for Enhanced STAR.
The Stimulus Checks will benefit seniors on fixed incomes, especially when house valuations and taxes continue to climb, according to Onondaga County Legislator Peggy Chase (D).
