2016 Federal COLA Increase Appearing Unlikely

"...As we edge closer to October, when federal retirees and Social Security recipients learn how much their COLA will actually be in 2016, the answer to whether there will be a COLA increase in 2016 becomes a little more clear each month.

It now appears increasingly less likely that there will be a COLA increase for federal retirees in January 2016. 

The reason is because the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is about the same in July as it was in June. The CPI-W is the index used for measuring increases in the prices that are used to determine how much the COLA increase will be, if any, in January 2016. As determined by the relevant data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI-W) in October 2014, federal retirees received a 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their civil service annuities beginning in January 2015. Social Security benefits and military retirement annuities increased by the same amount.

The CPI-W has actually declined 0.3 percent over the last 12 months. To calculate the 2016 COLA, if any, the average of the indices of July, August, and September 2015 will be compared with the 2014 third quarter average. The percentage increase, if any, determines the COLA some federal retirees will receive next January..."

Read more at FedSmith.com

Federal retirees to Get 1.7% COLA

"...Federal retirees will receive a cost-of-living adjustment to their annuities of 1.7 percent in January, which translates into an increase of about $50 a month on average for those who retired under the older of the two main federal retirement systems, and about $20 a month on average for those retired under the newer system.

According to the latest Office of Personnel Management data, as of last October 1, there were just under 2 million federal retirees, about three-fourths of them drawing benefits from the Civil Service Retirement System and the rest having retired under the Federal Employees Retirement System...."

Read more at The Washington Post

2015 COLA to be Set Soon

"...Federal retirees will know their 2015 cost-of-living adjustment soon, and it’s expected to be somewhere between 1.6 percent and 1.8 percent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that it will publish September’s Consumer Price Index figure on Oct. 22. That number is the final data point needed to calculate the 2015 COLA for federal and military retirees, as well as Social Security beneficiaries and those receiving veterans’ benefits...."

Read more at GovExec.com

COLA drop

"...Thanks to a slight drop in July living costs, the tentative inflation-catch up for millions of retired Americans now stands at 1.8 percent, down slightly from the previous month. This time in July, after the Labor Department announced the Consumer Price Index for June, the cost of living adjustment (COLA) was tentatively set at 1.9 percent.

There are still two months — August and September — to go in the COLA countdown. The final figure for those months will determine how big an adjustment retirees — federal, military and those under Social Security — will get next year..."

Read more at FederalNewsRadio.com