Los Angeles residents who depend on Supplemental Security Income are living on tight budgets. After all, to qualify for SSI benefits to begin with Los Angeles residents must have severely limited financial resources. These individuals and families depend on their SSI-benefits check each month, and they likely look closely at any potential adjustments that might be made to those benefits.
However, some of our readers may not know how Supplemental Security Income payments get adjusted. Outside of some massive change by the United States Congress, currently the only adjustments occur through cost-of-living increases, also known as “COLA” increases. These increases occur as required by law; the increases are tied to inflation.
Well, for those who are currently receiving SSI benefits, the most recent COLA adjustment is a good-news-bad-news situation. The good news? SSI benefits will be seeing an increase due to the COLA adjustment. That is different from the last time the COLA adjustment was assessed – when no adjustment at all was ordered. The bad news? The increase is only .3 percent. What does that mean in terms of actual dollar amounts for SSI payments? Basically, it is a matter of $2 or $3 dollars per month increase. A far cry from what is need to actually cover recent increases in the cost of living.
Despite that, Los Angeles residents who are receiving SSI benefits will likely take the increase, as small as it is. Qualifying for SSI benefits is a difficult process from start to finish, and those who are awarded SSI benefits aren’t likely to complain about such a minor increase after going through the application process.
Source: disability scoop, “SSI Benefits To Increase In 2017,” Michelle Diament, Oct. 18, 2016
