As mentioned in a previous post, the buying power of Social Security benefits has been declining for decades, but retirees took an
especially big hit last year.

With the recent recent survey conducted by the Senior Citizens League, 63% of retirees indicated
their Social Security benefits went up by less than $15 per month in 2020 due to last year’s low COLA
and the increase in Medicare Part B premiums (which are generally paid out of Social Security checks).

During that same time period, 65% of retirees indicated their monthly household expenses increased by
$80 or more — including 40% of retirees who said their spending went up to $120 or more per month.

This is trouble brewing for those about to retire and are not prepared.

Typically it is needed to do a lot of complicated math to figure out that if expenses rise by $80 or more, but
seniors get just $15 more in their monthly checks, this is going to pose problems for many who live on tight budgets as it is.