The New Media Journal | Millions Face Shrinking Social Security Payments

The New Media Journal | Millions Face Shrinking Social Security Payments: "Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise.

The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.

By law, Social Security benefits cannot go down. Nevertheless, monthly payments would drop for millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because the premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up slightly.

'I will promise you, they count on that COLA,' said Barbara Kennelly, a former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut who now heads the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. 'To some people, it might not be a big deal. But to seniors, especially with their health care costs, it is a big deal.'

Cost of living adjustments are pegged to inflation, which has been negative this year, largely because energy prices are below 2008 levels."