Millions of retirees living in the United States await the announcement of the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for the following period each year.
This is a necessary increase, due to the high inflation level experienced by the country during this time.
However, the phenomenon has two faces. One of the key aspects to keep in mind is that each annual increase in COLA directly affects benefits provided by certain social assistance programs.
A popular case in point is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
For example, just earlier this year over 130 thousand families in Louisiana will have their monthly income reduced by $27.00 USD through SNAP.
Similar reductions will be borne by the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program (FITAP), as well as the Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP). This was announced liberation Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
“DCFS encourages SNAP families to report any changes in their household size, income or expenses. Certain changes may increase your regular benefit amount,” the department highlighted.
COLA increase through 2024
For the year 2024, a COLA increase of 3.2% will be implemented, as announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) last October.
According to calculations released by the SSA, the average monthly income of individual Social Security beneficiaries will increase by more than $50.00 USD per month. In January of last year, $1,827.00 USD was paid, now the amount is $1,885.00 USD.
Some experts estimate that 130,409 SNAP families, about 33% of all eligibility in Louisiana, would face an average drop of $27.42 USD. These monthly benefits will be reduced starting from January.