Unlike recent years, the monthly figures used to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for military retirees, Social Security recipients, and others receiving certain federal benefits have stabilized as the fiscal year nears its end.

This makes the final adjustment – set to be determined the morning of Oct. 10 – less of a mystery. Experts predict a 2.5% boost, less than last year’s 3.2% increase and far short of the 8.7% hike from the year before that. The final figure will be available at MOAA’s COLA Watch page shortly after its release.

[FROM MILITARY TIMES: Vets Benefits to Mirror Social Security Cost-of-Living Boost]

Tracking COLA

MOAA provides COLA details to help retirees and other beneficiaries plan their finances in the coming year, but tracking the adjustment goes beyond money management – it’s critical to the core MOAA mission of protecting the value of service-earned compensation.

Without these adjustments, the purchasing power of retirement pay would drop dramatically in the years after service. That’s why MOAA has taken a leading role in establishing the present calculation, and in ensuring it remains safe from lawmakers seeking ways to solve ongoing budget problems.

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Past attacks on the benefit have included plans to remove the adjustment entirely, or to reduce it for military retirees. Recent threats have been less direct – the Congressional Budget Office’s 2022 report to the incoming 118th Congress offering budget-cutting options, for example, outlined a new COLA metric that would save the government more than $250 billion over 10 years thanks to a lower adjustment.

That plan never made it past the drawing board, but it’ll likely be part of a similar report expected in 2024 to greet the 119th Congress. MOAA stands ready to engage with lawmakers, as we’ve done in years past, to ensure they understand the true costs such changes would impose on military retirees.

Stay Informed With MOAA

MOAA members can keep up with the latest on COLA and other key issues by visiting MOAA’s news page. And be sure to register with our Legislative Action Center so you can make your voice heard on this issue and others as part of our work with Congress, both at the end of the 118th session and the start of the 119th in January.

For more details on COLA calculations, monthly updates tracking key inflation figures, and more, bookmark MOAA’s COLA Watch page.