This is how the Social Security COLA affects your SNAP program food stamps

Millions of retirees living in the United States wait each year for the announcement of their cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the following period.

These are necessary increases, especially in these times, given the high levels of inflation in the country.

However, there are two sides to this incident. One of the key aspects to keep in mind is that each annual increase in the COLA directly affects the benefits offered by certain social assistance programs.

Popular in this case is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

For example, starting this year more than 130 thousand households in Louisiana will see their monthly income cut through SNAP by $27.00 USD.

Similar reductions will be faced by the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program (FITAP), as well as the Kinship Care Subsidy Program (KCSP). It was announced in a release Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

“DCFS encourages SNAP households to report any changes in their household size, income or expenses. Some changes may result in an increase in your regular benefit amount,” the department highlighted.

COLA increase by 2024

For this year, 2024, a COLA increase of 3.2% will be implemented, as announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) last October.

According to calculations released by the SSA, the monthly income of individual Social Security beneficiaries will increase by an average of more than $50.00 USD per month. In January last year, $1,827.00 USD was paid, now the amount has become $1,885.00 USD.

Many experts estimate that 130,409 SNAP households, about 33% of all eligible households in Louisiana, would face an average cut of US$27.42. These monthly benefits will be reduced from January.