New Mexico gets rid of tax on Social Security
There is good news for Social Security recipients in New Mexico.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed House Bill 163, which will exempt those making less than $100,000 from paying state taxes on their Social Security benefits.
Couples earning less than $150,000 also won’t need to pay taxes on their retirement checks either.
Fred Nathan Jr, founder and executive director of Think Mexico, told ThinkAdvisor that the tax relief will allow 115,000 seniors to earn $710 more on average annually.
US cities with the highest inflation levels
While the Cost of Living Adjust (COLA) is at 8.7 percent for 2023, retirees in some cities are feeling the woes of inflation more than others.
A study by WalletHub compared the cost of living to 2022 levels in 22 major metro areas.
The results may surprise you.
The top five cities with the highest inflation are:
The cities with the lowest inflation include more expensive areas such as Los Angeles, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii.
Veterans are missing out on cash
Air Force Col Douglas Fowler has revealed how veterans can avoid losing out and have warned about the so-called COLA trap.
He revealed that military retirement pay and the COLA are calculated on the month and year a person retires, Military.com reported.
For retirees, it will calculate the difference between the third quarter of the year and the quarter before they retired.
Americans that joined the military before September 8 1980 and retired before January 1 2022 should’ve seen an 8.7 percent rise in their retirement pay.
But those who retired during 2022 received a seven percent increase, according to the Defense Department.
Fowler added that the best time for service members to retire is the month of March or the final quarter of the year.
Indiana University workers push for COLA
The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition submitted a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) petition to the university administration, per a press release.
The petition called for an 8 percent raise for all workers on campus and has generated over 1,100 supporters.
Denizhan Pak, a graduate worker stated in the release: “A cost of living adjustment is not just another raise. As inflation continues to grow and the living conditions for IU workers continue to deteriorate, it becomes a moral imperative to fight for basic necessities.
“We are not asking for an 8% raise. We are asking for IU to prevent an 8% pay cut.”
Parents can receive COLA on child support
Divorced parents in Minnesota receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) every two years on their basic child support payments.
The Child Support Office will send a letter to qualifying individuals if their payments will be impacted by the COLA, according to the Pine and Lakes Echo Journal.
Minnesota parents should’ve received a letter by now as the adjusted payments will go into effect on May 1.
The paying parent can contest the new amount if their income has not increased at the same rate as the 2023 COLA increase.
Retirees in Maryland to receive increased pension
The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System has recently announced that retirees who receive a pension can expect an increase starting in July.
The increased payments are due to the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment.
Those who receive payments from the Maryland Correctional Officers’ Retirement System, Employees’ and Teachers’ Pension Systems, Law Enforcement Officers’ Pension System, Local Fire and Police System and State Police Retirement System will all receive a boost in benefits.
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