Newsbytes October 11, 2024

In this issue: 
COLA Increase for 2025
CFPB Military Report
VA Checking PFAS Link to Kidney Cancer
Navy Birthday
FRA NHQ Closed Monday

COLA Increase for 2025
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced a 2.5 percent increase in the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for the calendar year 2025 for military and federal civilian retirees, survivor benefit annuitants, disabled veterans, and Social Security recipients. The new COLA rate will take effect on December 1, 2024, and the adjustment will appear in the December 30, 2024, payment.

By law, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a broad measure of consumer prices calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. It measures price changes in categories such as food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation, and education. The COLA increase for 2024 was 3.2 percent.

CFPB OSA Annual Report
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Office of Servicemember Affairs (OSA) was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The provision establishing the OSA was successfully supported by the FRA.

Each year, the OSA issues an annual report highlighting trends in complaints submitted by service members, veterans, and military families in the previous calendar year. The reports also identify emerging risks in consumer finance and provide an update on the CFPB’s ongoing efforts to protect the military community from harmful financial products and practices. The 2023 annual report offers an overview of complaints about consumer financial products and services submitted to the CFPB in calendar year 2023 by members of the military community, identifying and analyzing the unique issues faced by service members, veterans, and military families. The number of complaints filed by service members increased across all major product categories, including credit or consumer reporting, debt collection, credit cards, checking or savings accounts, and mortgages. In 2023, service members submitted approximately 84,600 complaints on a wide range of products and services. This marks a 27 percent increase compared to 2022 and a 98 percent increase compared to 2021. Complaints to the CFPB from service members, veterans, and their families have now surpassed 400,000.

A copy of the report is available at: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/office-of-servicemember-affairs-annual-report-fy-2023/

VA Checking for Link Between PFAS Chemicals and Kidney Cancer
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently announced that it will study whether kidney cancer is linked to exposure to chemicals used in military-grade firefighting foam and other products to determine whether veterans may be eligible for expedited benefits. If a link is found, kidney cancer could be designated as a presumptive service-connected condition for former service members who were exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as "forever chemicals" due to their persistence in the environment.

Happy Birthday, Navy!
The United States Navy will celebrate its 249th birthday on October 13, 2024, marking the journey from humble beginnings to the most powerful and sophisticated sea power in the world. The U.S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, established by the Continental Congress on October 13, 1775, to fight in America’s war for independence. Over the course of the war, the Continental Navy comprised approximately 50 ships, with around 20 warships active at its peak.

The Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1789, empowered Congress "to provide and maintain a navy." Acting on this authority, Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates in 1794, and the War Department administered naval affairs until Congress established the Department of the Navy on April 30, 1798.

FRA NHQ Closed Monday
In observance of Columbus Day, the FRA National Headquarters (NHQ) will be closed on Monday, October 14, 2024.