--- title: COLA Estimate for 2024 Stays at 3% Despite New Inflation Numbers description: Social Security recipients could see a 3% increase to their benefits in 2024, according to the latest cost-of-living (COLA) prediction. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter specializing in Social Security and retirement coverage, with a focus on making complex policy accessible to readers. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2023-08-10T19:24:06.000Z' modified: '2023-08-10T19:24:06.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News - Retirement word_count: 412 canonical: https://money.com/2024-cola-prediction-3-percent/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of a social security card with arrows](https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Inflation-COLA-3.jpg) Recipients of Social Security could see a 3% increase to their benefits next year, according to a new estimate. The [latest prediction](https://seniorsleague.org/cola-estimate-for-2024-still-3/) from advocacy group The Senior Citizens League is based on July’s consumer price index, which was released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and showed an inflation increase for the first time in over a year. This number matters because the official cost-of-living increase, or COLA, is calculated by the Social Security Administration every fall using inflation levels for July, August and September. ## Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you and your loved ones are financially protected as you age ### Regular health insurance, disability insurance, and Medicare are not designed to cover long-term care costs. Get Long-Term Care Insurance today - select your state to get a free quote. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/b569008ea8c5?ap_referrer=%2F2024-cola-prediction-3-percent%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fbest-long-term-care-insurance-money) ## What the data says - The 2024 COLA, which is linked to a subset of the consumer price index called the CPI-W, is expected to be 3%. This is the same as [last month's prediction](https://money.com/2024-cola-estimate-3-percent/). A COLA of 3% — much less than this year's 8.7% increase — would raise the average monthly Social Security benefit from $1,789 to $1,842.70. - Year-over-year [inflation](https://money.com/ways-supplement-income-high-inflation/) was up 2.6% in July, according to the latest [CPI-W numbers](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/cpiw.html) — which is significantly lower than the previous year. - Despite overall [inflation cooling](https://money.com/inflation-june-2023-rent-insurance/), certain expenses are still increasing and hurting older Americans’ budgets, according to a recent Senior Citizens League survey. About 66% respondents to the survey said they had put off [dental](https://money.com/best-dental-insurance/) care, and 43% said they delayed [optical](https://money.com/best-vision-insurance/) exams or getting a prescription for eyeglasses. Almost a third of respondents said they have postponed medical care or getting prescriptions filled because of deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses and surprise bills. - [Taxes on Social Security](https://money.com/social-security-tax-states/) income are also an issue: Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents said they paid tax on some of their benefits for the first time this year. ## What it means for retirees Even though inflation on most goods and services has started to come down over the last year, older people are getting slammed with increases on expenses related to health care. Monthly costs on essentials like [auto insurance](https://money.com/best-auto-insurance/) and Medicare premiums have increased or are expected to, adding to people's financial burden. As they're dealing with the rising cost of living, Social Security recipients are also facing more taxes on their benefits, which [haven’t kept up](https://money.com/social-security-2023-not-enough/) with household expenses in the first place.~ ~ Given older adults' reliance on Social Security benefits, this makes the 2024 COLA all the more important. It's set to be announced in October. ## Get the care you will need after age 65 ### 70% of people 65+ will require long-term care. A Long-Term Care Insurance policy makes the process easier by helping you pay for the care you need in your golden years. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/u89d59a0d2a8?ap_referrer=%2F2024-cola-prediction-3-percent%2F&url=%2Flong-term-care-insurance%2Flp%2Fabm-pub-best-ltc-insurance) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/1402/medium_fWrleDLaHsZEAmRdSdadlEauvRehdv.png) Getting Long-Term Care Insurance allows you to know that you're protected as you age [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/be10e253227a?ap_referrer=%2F2024-cola-prediction-3-percent%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/2024-cola-prediction-3-percent/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "COLA Estimate for 2024 Stays at 3% Despite New Inflation Numbers" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/2024-cola-prediction-3-percent/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/2024-cola-prediction-3-percent/", "name": "COLA Estimate for 2024 Stays at 3% Despite New Inflation Numbers", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-08-10T19:24:06.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/2024-cola-prediction-3-percent/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/2024-cola-prediction-3-percent/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2023-08-10T19:24:06.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "COLA Estimate for 2024 Stays at 3% Despite New Inflation Numbers", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/08/News-Inflation-COLA-3.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Inflation-COLA-3%" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) 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