Getting Old Is Not For Sissies

Ronni Bennett at Times Goes By reminds those of us of "a certain age" that it's time to make some decisions with respect to Medicare Part D. The re-enrollment period starts November 15, and I'll shortly have decide whether to stick with my current plan, which at least presently covers the medications I take, although it could drop any one of them at any time in the next twelve months, and which is rather expensive, or gamble on a new plan which would cost less in terms of premium, but which might not cover all three pills I take each day. Trying to sort out the plans is daunting, but Ms. Bennett has really done a remarkable job in simplifying the process, at least for those of us fortunate enough to have a computer and internet access.

This internet access, however, also means I sometimes get greeted by bad news early in the day. This morning, for example, I learned that the "cost of living" raise in Social Security benefits is not going to offset the real cost of living rise.

Come January, the nation's nearly 50 million Social Security recipients will see the smallest cost-of-living increases in their monthly checks in four years, even though they are paying significantly more for such items as food, energy and medical care.

Many private economists are looking for an increase of around 2 percent when the government announces the number Wednesday following release of the Consumer Price Index for September.

(snip)

The adjustment each year is based on the change in consumer prices from the July-September quarter of this year compared with the same period in the previous year. Benefit payments have been tied to inflation since 1975.

The big jump for 2006 occurred because energy prices had soared in September of 2005, reflecting the impact of Hurricane Katrina. This year, however, energy prices have been coming down in recent months after spiking in the spring.

With oil prices surging this week to highs above $88 per barrel, analysts believe consumers will get socked with higher gasoline prices in the months ahead, but those gains will come too late to influence the new cost-of-living adjustment. The Energy Department already is predicting that most Americans will pay a lot more to heat their homes this winter.

Also, the cost of food products has been rising much more sharply this year than last, reflecting increased use of corn in ethanol fuel; and as usual, medical costs, which fall heavily on the elderly, have been outpacing gains in other CPI categories.

Now, while I no longer drive a car, I do heat my apartment and I do like to eat. Fortunately, I have a relatively uncomplicated health picture, at least for someone of my age and life-long bad habits, but I still need regular medical attention, and so the rest of the article depressed me further.

Part of the Social Security increase will be eaten up by a rise in the cost of Medicare, the giant health care program that covers the elderly and disabled. The government announced earlier this month that Medicare premiums will rise 3.1 percent next year, or $2.50, to $96.40 per month.

It looks to be another lean year for those of us on fixed incomes.