How Social Security's 2018 COLA Is Calculated

As of September, nearly 62 million people were receiving a monthly check from Social Security, including 42.2 million who are retired workers. More than 60% of these retirees rely on their monthly stipend from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for at least half of their income. You could rightly say that without Social Security, these seniors would be in big trouble, financially.

For all beneficiaries, and especially seniors, no time of the year is more important than mid-October. This is when the SSA announces its multiple Social Security changes for the upcoming year. This often includes adjustments to the maximum monthly payout at full retirement age, inflationary adjustments tied to the earnings test, and, of course, the announcement regarding Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. COLA is a term that describes what, if any, raise Social Security recipients will receive in the coming year.

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Source: Fool.com