2024 Social Security COLA ‘Meager At Best’ — 3 Ways To Pad Your Income
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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The 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that Social Security recipients will get in 2024 sounds small compared with this year’s 8.7% COLA, but it’s still one of the highest this century. In only seven previous years since 2000 has the annual COLA topped 3.2%, according to the Social Security Administration. The COLA has been less than 2% in 10 of those years — and there was no COLA on three occasions.
When you look at it that way, the 2024 COLA doesn’t seem that bad. But people still aren’t happy about it. Nearly two-thirds of Social Security recipients polled in a recent survey from public interest law firm Atticus said they are dissatisfied with next year’s 3.2% adjustment.
Separate research from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan seniors advocacy group, found that the prices of certain essential items such as housing, car insurance and homeowners’ costs are still rising at more than double the rate of the 2024 COLA.
This is hardly a new concern. Even the 2023 COLA of 8.7% did not do enough to bring financial relief to millions of Social Security recipients struggling to make ends meet. “The reality is that the dollar amount of the COLA increase received is meager at best, with the average monthly retiree benefit only $1,790 in 2023,” TSCL noted in a September press release.
There’s nothing anyone can do about the 2024 COLA. It is what it is, and it won’t change again until 2025. For Social Security recipients looking for an additional financial boost, the best bet might be to pad their income. Here are three ways to do so.
Get a Side Gig
Earning extra money through part-time jobs or side gigs is maybe the best way to pad your income in retirement, especially with so many employers seeking help. Some of the more lucrative side gigs for seniors include tutor, pet sitter, notary signing agent and content writer.
Before taking on paid work, be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules. You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time, but if you’re younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, the SSA will reduce your benefits. The agency occasionally puts in new earnings test limits regarding work income. For 2024, you will be able to earn up to $22,320 without any benefits being withheld. Visit this SSA site to learn more about the rules regarding outside income.
Rent Out a Room
If you have a private room in your home — and feel secure renting it out — you can earn steady income while also having extra company around the house — and perhaps a younger helping hand. You can rent it full-time or only occasionally, a la Airbnb. You can also consider renting out your whole home by the hour for special events. To get started, try platforms such as Peerspace or Giggster.
Stock Up on Senior Discounts
Saving money is pretty much the same thing as earning money if you are saving it on things you are going to buy anyway. Social Security recipients can find senior discounts on essential items like groceries, phone plans, pharmacy purchases, restaurants, gasoline and public transit. Check websites like SeniorLiving.org and AARP to learn more about the options available.
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