Social Security benefits to get boost

Social Security recipients will get an average of $140 more each month starting in January, the program’s highest bump in 40 years, officials said Thursday.

The program serves about 70 million people and its annual Cost of Living Adjustment helps it keep up with inflation. The announcement comes just weeks before the midterm elections where cost-of-living is a top issue for voters.

Last month, Medicare announced Part B premiums will drop by 3% in 2023, the first time in more than a decade that the premiums have not risen. 

What’s inflation doing? The Labor Department’s inflation report showed that overall consumer prices rose by 8.2% year over year.

Consumer prices for energy and food specifically jumped even higher than that, with total food prices increasing 11.2% over the last 12 months and energy prices still up nearly 20% over the year despite several months of improvement.

The report said inflation rose slightly faster from August to September than July to August. Still-rising inflation sets up the Federal Reserve for another interest rate hike—probably by another three-quarters of a point.