Wyden: Social Security raise not enough

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a statement Thursday following the announcement that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits would increase by 2.8 percent in 2019:

” Today ‘s increase in Social Security will provide some relief for seniors who count on these earned benefits, but it still isn’t enough to help Americans keep up with skyrocketing health care costs, prescription drug prices, and other basic necessities,” Wyden said.

“Working Americans pay into Social Security with every paycheck, and in return they deserve a secure retirement. Congress should be protecting and strengthening Social Security benefits, not pushing radical cuts to Social Security, including the cost of living adjustment, as the president and congressional Republicans have proposed.”

Every year, the Social Security Administration releases a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits based on an automatic, pre-determined formula. Last year, the COLA was 2.0 percent. In 2017, it was 0.3 percent.