BERKELEY – Almost everything is getting more expensive, so members of the governing body are sending a letter to the Social Security Administration urging them to increase the only source of income many seniors have.
Councilman Keith Buscio said that the 3.2 percent cost of living adjustment to Social Security should be bumped up because it isn’t close to the rate of inflation. With the fighting in the Middle East, gas prices are likely to go up as well.
He suggested that the increase should be 8.7 percent, like it was last year. The Township Council agreed, and will be crafting an official statement to the federal officials in charge of overseeing COLA.
Looking at the last ten years, the COLA has been: 2014: 1.7; 2015: 0; 2016: .3; 2017: 2.0; 2018: 2.8; 2019: 1.6; 2020: 1.3; 2021: 5.9; 2022: 8.7; and 2023: 3.2.
The Social Security Administration had previously announced the COLA will benefit 66 million people who get Social Security, and the 7.5 million who get SSI. Since some people get both, the total number of people impacted is more than 71 million.
Another change in relation to this is that the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $168,600. Previously, this was $160,000.
The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Road Work
In other news, the Township Council applied for a grant for sidewalks on Central Parkway for the Safe Routes To School fund, coordinated by the State Department of Transportation.
The council also awarded a $503,051.93 contract to S&G Paving for work on Scarborough Place, Saint James Drive, and Abaco Street.
Another contract to perform work on Fontana Street was awarded to Earle Asphalt in the amount of $213,213.13.
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