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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Economy & business fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about economy & business. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

7,106 published reviews in this topic

FactCheck.orgEconomy & business

"And on my watch, for the first time in 10 years, seniors are getting an increase in their Social Security checks. So, checks are going to be up and Medicare payments are going to be down."

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The review examines remarks President Joe Biden made in Florida on Nov. 1, in which he linked Social Security checks going up with Medicare payments going down. It explains that Biden was referring to Social Security payments rising while Medicare Part B premiums fell, not to an increase in checks caused by his administration. The Social Security adjustment was set by law and tied to inflation, rather than presidential action. The review says Social Security payments had risen in every year of the preceding decade except one. The most recent exception was 2015, when the relevant inflation measure was flat. In 2022, higher inflation produced an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment, which the review describes as the largest percentage increase since 1981. It says the adjustment meant an average monthly increase of more than $140 for beneficiaries, starting with the January 2023 payment. The Medicare comparison also needed context. Part B premiums were scheduled to drop by $5.20 per month the following year, but the review notes that this followed a larger increase the year before, partly based on anticipated expenses for an Alzheimer’s drug that did not occur. It therefore distinguishes the factual comparison Biden made from the implication that his watch or policies brought about the Social Security increase.