Trustees who oversee the nation's entitlement programs said in two new reports that they expect Social Security's cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase to be 0.2% next year, based on "intermediate assumptions." The trustees also projected that Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund will run out of money earlier than previously predicted.
The small increase in Social Security next year — which equals an extra $2 for someone getting a $1,000 monthly check — would come after retirees got no increase in Social Security benefits in 2016 for the third time in four decades.The final COLA figure is typically not determined until the fall.
Social Security's trust fund reserves will run out in 2034, mirroring last year's projection, according to a report tracking the entitlement program's health. Afterward, yearly revenues would allow the government to pay about 75% of Social Security benefits that have already been promised, according to the report.
Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund will run out of money in 2028, two years sooner than previous projections — in part because of low inflation.
