CNBNews

By David Huckabee

Federal retirees checking their bank balances this month are probably noticing they have taken a hit in their pensions because of health plan premium increases and the absence of a COLA in 2010.

Will things be better in 2011?

The answer is probably not. Health premiums will still go up and there may be little or no increase in pensions in 2011. We know this because the December 2009 urban and clerical wage earner consumer price index (CPI-W) is 1.76% lower than the cost of living computation quarter which will be used to compute the next COLA, and if current trends continue the COLA numbers will be in negative territory for 2011 also.

The Social Security system trustees and the Congressional Budget Office are also predicting little or no increase in benefits beginning in 2011.

How can this happen two years in a row? Won't Congress somehow fix things?

via www.fedsmith.com