Page 25 - Leisure Living Holiday 2015

Social Security COLA Updates
By Christopher McIntire, President, McIntire Retirement Services www.mcintireretirementservices.com
Hello again. What a wonderful end to the summer and the segway to autumn we were blessed with around the lakeshore. here have been periods of volatility with our weather this year and also with the stock and bond markets here domestically as well as around the globe.
Most of you know by now that Social Securi- ty recipients will not be getting a cost of living ad- justment (COLA) on their beneits this year. You most likely know that Medicare premiums went up, however, and for most of those over age 65 this is the equivalent of a pay cut on your ixed income.
Social Security uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W for those who want to Google it) to deter- mine if there will be a COLA and if so, how big it will be. he formula is heavily weighted on housing, 39.20%, food and beverage, 15.70% and transporta- tion, 18.70% with only 5.60% being medical costs. he continued low price of energy was the driving factor in why there was no increase in payments for 2016.
In an experimental mode is a CPI-E for those over 62. hey used the term elderly. It is heavily weight- ed on housing, 44.50% with transportation and food at 14.50% and 12.80% weighting respectively. Med- ical is factored with an 11.30% weighting which is more than double the current CPI. As most of you know and understand, as we get older medical costs rise signiicantly versus transportation costs in most cases. here is no schedule for a roll out of this new CPI-E but I would think that as more boomers retire and trigger beneits further adjustments will need to
be made because, according the Social Security Ad- ministration (SSA), SS makes up nearly 40% of the average recipients income. his doesn’t mean that COLA’s will increase. In fact, it is possible they would decrease as the SSA works to keep the fund solvent as the boomer generation begins to draw their beneits.
According to the SSA, at the end of 2013 the trust fund had 2.76 trillion dollars in it and it is ex- pected to grow until the end of 2019. Hopefully we can keep unemployment low and keep the payroll tax revenues coming in! We’ll talk about some pro- posed changes to Social Security in future articles.
hanks for reading
Investment advice is offered by Horter Investment Management, LLC, a Reg- istered Investment Adviser. Insurance and annuity products are sold separately through McIntire Retirement Services, LLC. Securities transactions for Horter Investment Management clients are placed through Pershing Advisor Solutions, Trust Company of America, Jefferson National Monument Advisor, Fidelity, Se- curity Benefit Life, FC Stone and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
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ThTeh1e1t1h0tAhnAninvneursaalry Community Choir
Presentation of
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December 20, 2015 3:00 P.M.
By G.F. Handel
St. John Lutheran Church
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Reception Following
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