House Lawmakers to Propose Emergency 3 Percent Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment

With the U.S. Social Security Administration this week announcing a 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for benefits in 2021, Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and John Larson (D-Conn.) plan to propose legislation to raise that to a 3 percent emergency increase next year, reports CNBC . "This absolutely anemic COLA won't even come close to helping seniors afford even their everyday expenses, let alone those exacerbated by COIDV-19," DeFazio declared. The Emergency Social Security COLA for 2021 Act is scheduled to be unveiled on Friday. The Senior Citizens League reported that the average yearly COLA boost since 2010 has been 1.4 percent, but it averaged 3 percent from 1999 to 2009. "Raising the COLA to 3 percent for 2021 will provide seniors with an immediate, crucial lifeline during the ongoing coronavirus crisis," DeFazio said. "It's also critically important that Congress provide a permanent fix to the COLA formula that actually reflects the real costs that seniors face." DeFazio and Larson are separately pushing for revising the measurement used to calculate annual COLA increases. Among the senior advocacy groups supporting their proposal is the Senior Citizens League, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and Social Security Works.