Social Security trustees are expected to decide this month whether to approve a cost-of-living increase for recipients, who include about 25,000 Bell County residents.

Earlier this year, they said they may not OK what in the past has been a 3 percent to 5 percent annual hike. They also said they might not pay an increase in 2011.

They said inflation is down because of lower energy costs.

If no increase is approved, the 20,000 households benefiting from Social Security to the tune of an average of $13,900 per year each will forego receiving a total of $8,477,000 in new benefits, based on a 3 percent COLA.

That would be about $420 each household would not see.

At the same time, expert say health-care costs are rising, according to Forbes magazine. They rose 3.5 percent in the last 12 months.