In a time when the economy is facing a multitude of struggles, the announcement of a record COLA in 2022 is a victory.

NORA readers know all about the importance of a fair COLA, and how special considerations must be made for the extreme situation of the past two years.

As we reported, the recent COLA is the highest in four decades. While this is a win, we’ll continue to note how it holds up in the face of current economic changes. Continuous feedback and review will help us plan for the next COLA, and keep our cause going strong.

But the immediate question many retirees have is just how much their benefit will be. While the adjustments are different for different categories of Social Security income recipients, the benefit adjustment for retired workers is 5.9 percent of the December payout.

But estimating it is one thing – planning it is another.

3 Ways to Utilize Your Social Security COLA in 2022

The first way to use your COLA is to try and grow it. By investing your increase, you could pad your hard-earned savings and estate from inflationary pressure.

Those who are already active investors in retirement could easily leverage this route, and the COLA could provide the perfect boost for aspiring investors to get started.

Another way to use the COLA is to treat yourself and your loved ones. It’s been a rough couple of years, and with some degree of normalcy returning, now’s the time to make memories and enjoy life.

While both these options are fine, there’s also a third option for the Social Security COLA in 2022 – save it. At least temporarily, it may be best to see how the market shapes up and observe the increase alongside changing living costs.

You can count on NORA to continue covering the COLA’s impact and other important topics for retirees. Do you support our cause of guaranteeing a fair yearly COLA? Read about it here, then follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more.