AARP Eye Center
Feeling the Impact of No COLA
By Alejandra Owens, October 28, 2009 04:23 PM
I'm sure you've been hearing a lot of about the fact that there's no COLA for Social Security recipients this year (and maybe the next year). And there's been an equal amount of debate about how to address that, or if it even should be addressed.
The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) released a poll earlier today showing that the vast majority of Americans aged 65+ believe that the lack of a COLA in 2010 will adversely affect their finances.
Incredibly, 71 percent of seniors said that their financial situation will be negatively impacted because their Social Security checks will not be increasing next year. With 78 percent of respondents being retired and out of the workforce, they are more likely to be living on a fixed income, and are reliant on Social Security as a primary source of retirement income.
The results of the survey not only underscore the unfortunate prominence Social Security plays in current retirement planning, but also demonstrates the very tangible impact the down market will have on recipients next year.
Now more than ever we're seeing folks rethinking their retirement strategy - looking to build a comprehensive plan that could include everything from Social Security, personal savings and insured retirement strategies which we're hearing more about.
What about you? Are you going to be impacted by the no COLA? What are you looking into to make sure you have enough money for retirement?