thedrifter
10-14-05, 10:51 AM
Retirees, survivors to get COLA raise
By Rick Maze
Marine Corps Times staff writer
Military retirees and survivors will receive a 4.1 percent increase in their January checks, the biggest cost-of-living adjustment since 1991, the government announced Friday.
The COLA also is a full percentage point greater than the 3.1 percent increase in basic pay coming for active-duty members.
The annual increase is determined by formula comparing consumer price differences in a three-month period from one year to the next. In this case, the jump in oil and gasoline prices in September because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita were a major factor in the increase, which had been expected to be 3.7 percent to 3.8 percent before the storms hit the Gulf Coast.
Effective Dec. 1 and first appearing in January payments, the increase applies to military retired pay, military survivors' benefits, federal civilian retired pay and Social Security. It does not apply to veterans' disability and survivor's benefits, which increase each year only by an act of Congress, although traditionally a law is enacted providing them the same increase.
COLAs have been low in recent years - they were just 2.7 percent last year - because inflation was low. It has not been since the 5.4 percent increase of 1991 that retirees received such a large adjustment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks consumer prices, reports that energy costs are about 35 percent higher this year than last year and that transportation costs rose 14.5 percent. The only thing to drop in price was clothing costs, which fell by 0.6 percent.
Ellie
By Rick Maze
Marine Corps Times staff writer
Military retirees and survivors will receive a 4.1 percent increase in their January checks, the biggest cost-of-living adjustment since 1991, the government announced Friday.
The COLA also is a full percentage point greater than the 3.1 percent increase in basic pay coming for active-duty members.
The annual increase is determined by formula comparing consumer price differences in a three-month period from one year to the next. In this case, the jump in oil and gasoline prices in September because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita were a major factor in the increase, which had been expected to be 3.7 percent to 3.8 percent before the storms hit the Gulf Coast.
Effective Dec. 1 and first appearing in January payments, the increase applies to military retired pay, military survivors' benefits, federal civilian retired pay and Social Security. It does not apply to veterans' disability and survivor's benefits, which increase each year only by an act of Congress, although traditionally a law is enacted providing them the same increase.
COLAs have been low in recent years - they were just 2.7 percent last year - because inflation was low. It has not been since the 5.4 percent increase of 1991 that retirees received such a large adjustment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks consumer prices, reports that energy costs are about 35 percent higher this year than last year and that transportation costs rose 14.5 percent. The only thing to drop in price was clothing costs, which fell by 0.6 percent.
Ellie