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Provisions Affecting Cost of Living Adjustment

Information on the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

An annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applies to benefits after initial eligibilty. For the provisions listed below, we provide estimates of the financial effect on the OASDI program over the long-range period (the next 75 years) and for the 75th year. In addition, we provide detailed single year tables.

Tables and graphs are available in two formats: HTML and Portable Document Format (PDF). We recommend the PDF version for printing (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

All estimates are based on the intermediate assumptions described in the 2008 Trustees Report. Choose the type of estimates (summary or detailed) from the list of provisions.

Number Table and graph selection
A1 Beginning in December 2009, reduce the annual COLA by 1 percentage point.
Summary measures and graphs   (PDF Version)
Detailed single year tables   (PDF Version)
A2 Beginning in December 2009, reduce the annual COLA by 0.5 percentage point.
Summary measures and graphs   (PDF Version)
Detailed single year tables   (PDF Version)
A3 Beginning in December 2009, use the "superlative" (or "chained") CPI for COLAs, estimated to reduce the COLA by 0.3 percentage point.
Summary measures and graphs   (PDF Version)
Detailed single year tables   (PDF Version)

Above provisions
Summary measures
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Last reviewed or modified July 16, 2008