Committed To Southern Colorado Seniors For 39 Years And Counting
Senior
Beacon NOVEMBER 2021
Vol. 40:10
Established February 1982
5.9% COLA Welcome, Inflation Likely To Continue to Erode Buying Power (Washington, DC) – Retired and disabled Social Security recipients are anxiously looking forward to the largest cost of living adjustment (COLA) since 1982, according to The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). “This would be the highest COLA that most beneficiaries living today have ever seen,” says Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. But a high COLA means exceptionally high inflation is impacting consumers. The Senior Citizens League has received more than 200 emails over the past month, with many retired and disabled senders describing the dire situations they face as rapidly
rising inflation makes it impossible to pay the bills. The Social Security Administration announced earlier today that the COLA in 2022 will be 5.9 percent — making it the highest Social Security inflation adjustment in 40 years. Over the past 12 years, COLAs have averaged a meager 1.4 percent. The COLA in 2021 was just 1.3 percent, and raised average benefits by about $20. The 2022 COLA will increase an average monthly retirement benefit of $1,565 to roughly $1,657, an increase of $92. While the high COLA is welcome, ▶ SEE COLA, PAGE 21
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PCC STEM program receives $5 million grant
PUEBLO – Pueblo Community College received nearly $5 million in funding from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education to help Hispanic and low-income students achieve degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Hispanic-Serving Institution Title III grant will fund the STEM Excellence in Development, Student Growth and Equity program, which began Oct. 1, 2021, and will continue through Sept. 30, 2026. One hundred percent of the program is financed through the FIPSE grant. The total amount awarded is $4,920,795. Hispanic-Serving Institutions have a total Hispanic enrollment of at least 25 percent. Thirty-four percent of PCC’s student body is Hispanic. “We are excited for the opportunity the Department of Education has provided us,” said Joey Mathews, PCC’s director of STEM career and technical education. “This funding will provide many of the services needed for our STEM students at PCC to thrive and will also allow us to foster the K-12 community’s inter-
est in what STEM has to offer. “I am thankful for the team of STEM faculty and staff that worked so hard putting this proposal together and am excited about the work we will do.” The primary objective of the grant is to increase Hispanic STEM enrollment, retention, graduation and transfer rates. Partnerships with four-year institutions such as Colorado State University Pueblo will help students transfer successfully after they graduate from PCC. Funds will be used for outreach in grades K-12, a STEM video library, in-depth student support, undergraduate research, career development, faculty training, curriculum redesign, and articulation and transfer activities with CSU-Pueblo and other four-year schools. PCC will provide tutoring, peer mentorship and intensive support and counseling from academic career experts. PCC’s campuses in Pueblo, Mancos and Cañon City will provide extensive opportunities for current STEM students as well as K-12 ▶ SEE PCC, PAGE 17