I guess that by now everyone who is currently receiving
Social Security benefits knows that there won't be any cost of living
Adjustment (COLA) for 2016. This, in spite of the fact that all of the
financial advisors whose columns I read are in agreement that the only reason
for the lack of an increase is due to the decline in the price of oil. They also are in agreement that oil and
gasoline prices are a minute part of the budget for most seniors.
Grumbling aside, I want to share with you the means I used
to get my COLA for 2016 without the help of the government gurus. I hope that it might open the door for those
of you who draw SS to also find some extra $$$ to supplement your monthly
benefit.
It is a rather strange coincidence that the announcement
about the lack of a COLA came almost simultaneously with the date on which
Medicare Part D recipients are able to make changes to their prescription
coverage for 2016. It borders on being
a great stroke of luck!
I have started to receive solicitations via email and snail
mail from insurers who want my business, and I'm certain you are getting them
too. Anyway, one that I got advertised
a very low premium - one-third of my current one.
I decided to go to Medicare.gov and see if my scrips were on
their formulary. I have two that are
pretty high cost. It turns out that
they were on there along with all my other generic ones, so I did a cost
comparison. Well, I was pleasantly
surprised by the results. The projected cost for all of my prescriptions was about
$600 lower.
Obviously, my next action was to call the toll-free number,
which put me in touch with a representative who enrolled me in less than an
hour. He also enrolled my wife in the
same call.
Judy had a different problem with our current insurance than
mine; her premiums are more than the cost of her prescriptions, and that
premium was going to go up by about 18% next year. Her enrollment was even more beneficial than mine.
Now, let's get back to that non-COLA that was announced last
week. With the savings we will get in
premiums alone (not even the lower drug costs, mind you) it will amount to a
3.2% increase in monthly benefit for me and a hefty 8.2% for Judy. Not bad when you consider that the past
Social Security COLAs were under 2%.
