Social Security benefits projected to increase 8.6% in 2023

[agate]

This is only a projection, not the official announcement of the annual Social Security cost of living allowance increase--estimated for 2023 (8.6%). This is an article by Diane Archer in JustCareUSA (May 18, 2022):

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[agate]

Actually the increase will be 8.7%, said to be the highest increase in 40 years.Inflation is what caused this bonanza.

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[flatcap]

Looks like it will be around 3% this time. I wish it were more. I have a new lease on my apartment, and the rent went up by 16.1%.

[agate]

Yes, that bonanza won't be repeated, alas.

My rent went way up too (by 60%) but it was mainly on account of that Social Security increase in January. The rent in this building is calculated so as to be no more than 30% of a person's income, and medical expenses often can lower the rent a bit. A whopping dental expense came along right after the rent was settled for the next year (which starts Oct. 1 for me), and so I'm out of luck until the next reassessment. I'll be paying that steep rent until next Oct. 1. And paying the dental bill too but things aren't totally bleak because the SNAP benefits might go up if I can get the paperwork right on that dental bill and get it to them as required.

I couldn't function without a credit card. MS doesn't enrich most people.

[flatcap]

Geez, agate, I thought I had it bad rent-wise. Sixty percent is obscene.

I wish you luck on the SNAP paperwork. It can be tough dealing with bureaucracy — very tough. I can hardly fill out any kind of form, and it's even harder to get help with that.

MS hasn't made me rich, either. Unless you count friends like you, that is. I feel much enriched in that regard.

[agate]

Thank you, flatcap!

It's actually a fair rent increase, I have to admit. Unlike most other years, this last year has had remarkably low medical expenses, partly because my insurance began covering some pricey services (glasses, hearing aids, dental to some extent) recently--which I'd been paying for in the past, and those medical expenses kept my rent down.

It's the fairest rent arrangement I've ever had. It certainly is better than the situations where a landlord can arbitrarily raise your rent by quite a lot, and all you can do is pay it or move.