Veterans may be in line for a big cost-of-living boost in
their benefits payouts starting in December thanks to legislation finalized by
Congress on Monday.
The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act
passed unanimously in the House on Monday and without objection in the Senate
earlier in the summer. It now heads to the White House, where President Joe
Biden is expected to sign it into law in coming days.
The legislation ties the cost-of-living boost for veterans
benefits to the planned increase in Social Security benefits. Although the
Social Security boost is automatic each year, lawmakers must approve the
veterans benefits increase annually.
How much that boost will be next year is still not certain.
The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the COLA rate for
2022 next month, based on economic trends over the last few months.
That increase will go into effect for benefits checks sent
out starting this December.
The cost-of-living bump hasn’t been above 3.0 percent since
2011, and has averaged less than 1.3 percent over the last six years.
But last month, officials from the Senior Citizens League
predicted that next year’s rise could top 6.2 percent, based on recent
inflation and wage data released by federal economists. If so, it would be the
largest increase since 1983 for Social Security and VA benefits recipients.
No comments:
Post a Comment