The Social Security Administration (SSA) has come out saying there will be no automatic cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2016. SSA has said the reason there will be no change is because inflation is too low to warrant an automatic benefit hike.
Since 1975, federal law has mandated that Social Security benefits adjust upward annually to account for increase in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. There have been only two other years (2010 and 2011) without a COLA.
Without an adjustment, the maximum federal Supplemental Security Income benefits for individuals will remain at $733 per month. Couples can receive $1,100 per month. Across the nation, over 59 million people receive Social Security benefits and 8 million rely solely on SSI.