Compliance October 19, 2011

SSA Announces First COLA Since 2009 and New Taxable Wage Base

October 19, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase 3.6% in 2012, the Social Security Administration announced.
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The 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2012.  Increased payments to more than eight million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2011.  

In addition, the Administration announced that based on the increase in average wages, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $110,100 from $106,800.    

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Information about Medicare changes for 2012, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov.  For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.   

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated.  To read more, visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.
Benefits October 19, 2011

Average Earnings Falls in September

October 19, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.1% from August to September, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
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A 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings was offset by a 0.3% increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).  

Real average weekly earnings rose 0.2% over the month, as a result of the 0.3% increase in the average workweek and the decrease in real average hourly earnings. Since reaching a recent peak in October 2010, real average weekly earnings have fallen 2%.  

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Real average hourly earnings fell 1.9%, seasonally adjusted, from September 2010 to September 2011. This decrease combined with a 0.3% increase in average weekly hours resulted in a 1.7% decrease in real average weekly earnings during the same period.  

Production and Non-Supervisory Employees  

According to a BLS news release, real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees fell 0.2% from August to September, seasonally adjusted. A 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings was offset by a 0.4% increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).  

Real average weekly earnings rose 0.1% over the month, as a result of the 0.3% increase in the average workweek and the decrease in real average hourly earnings. Since reaching a recent peak in October 2010, real average weekly earnings have fallen 2.2%.  

Real average hourly earnings fell 2.4%, seasonally adjusted, from September 2010 to September 2011. The decrease in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3% increase in average weekly hours resulted in a 2% decrease in real average weekly earnings during this period.  

More information is at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm.

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