Cully Campagnone, 82, of North Kingstown, talks about what it will mean to her to not get a cost of living increase in her mothly social security check.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

CRANSTON — More than 50 million people who collect monthly payments through the federal Social Security program will receive no increase in their benefits come January, the Social Security Administration said on Thursday.

That means no “raise” for more than 196,000 retirees, disabled people and others who collect Social Security in Rhode Island — about 20 percent of the state’s population.

Among them is Cully Campagnone, 82, of North Kingstown, a retired supermarket clerk, who was not pleased to learn that her benefits will stay the same.

“Even though the economy is very bad, you still need to live,” she said in an interview at the Cranston Senior Center on Thursday. “We still have to pay for everything. We don’t get anything free,” she said.

It is the first time since 1975 — when automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) began — that Social Security beneficiaries will see no across-the-board increase.

Until now, the lowest automatic annual increases were 1.3 percent in 1987 and again in 1999, and 1.4 percent in 2003. Last year, beneficiaries received a 5.8-percent boost in benefits.

The agency typically increases benefit amounts each year, based on the increase in the price of goods and services as measured by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index.

This time, however, there was no increase in inflation for the year ended Sept. 30, government figures show. Thus, Social Security benefits will not change for 2010.

As of July 8, 2009, the average retired worker was receiving about $1,146 in Social Security benefits each month, according to Social Security Administration figures.

Nicholas Geanacou, 83, of Cranston, a retired rehabilitation counselor, said he had an idea that benefits would remain flat. “I sort of suspected they would pull a fast one,” he said.

He brushed aside talk about inflation. The real reason that there will be no rise in benefits, he said, is unemployment. With fewer people working, fewer people are paying Social Security taxes, reducing the balance in the Social Security trust funds, he said.

No matter the reason, little can be done, he said. “I’m going to grit my teeth in frustration,” he said.

Al Roberto, 65, of Cranston, a retired safety engineer, said that Social Security represents only part of his income, so the lack of an increase will not affect him.

But it should serve as a “wake-up call” to young workers to set aside money for their retirement so they will have sources of income to supplement Social Security, he said.

“You diversify. You save more. And stop spending too much,” Roberto said. “Young people have to understand they’ve got to start saving early … and they’ll be fine.”

Mario Casinelli Jr., 81, of Cranston, said the lack of an increase will not affect him, because he still works — nearly full-time — as a pharmacy consultant.

Nevertheless, he said, seniors and some others will still have to find a way to pay monthly premiums for the federal Medicare health insurance program and related expenses.

Many Social Security beneficiaries pay for a portion of Medicare, known as Medicare Part B, which generally helps cover the cost of doctor’s office visits and some other items.

The amount is generally deducted from their Social Security benefits each month. But under a special provision in federal law, most people will not see a decrease in their monthly Social Security benefits next year even if Medicare Part B premiums rise, said Kurt Czarnowski, regional communications director for the Social Security Administration.

Most beneficiaries currently pay a monthly Medicare Part B premium of $96.40.

(Some higher-income Social Security beneficiaries pay more than the standard amount for Medicare Part B, and could see a drop in their Social Security benefits next year.)

Rhode Island Social Security beneficiaries are not the only ones who will go without a raise next year.

The lack of a cost-of-living adjustment will also affect about 1.09 million Social Security beneficiaries in Massachusetts, and about 600,000 in Connecticut.

In addition, there will be no increase in the federal share of benefits paid to the nation’s 7 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a program that generally makes monthly payments to those with little income and few resources.

President Obama and a number of legislators, including U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, have called for a one-time payment — possibly $250 — for each beneficiary of Social Security and SSI, and perhaps other retirees.

Some preliminary proposals would generally provide beneficiaries a flat, one-time $250 payment, similar to what they received earlier this year as a result of economic stimulus legislation signed into law by President Obama in February.

But those are still just proposals. In the meantime, some retirees said they will have to hunker down.

Marie Caluori, 79, of Cranston, a retired office worker, said, “You’re going to have to try to live within your income.”

The cost of certain goods and services — especially health-insurance premiums and prescription drugs — are still rising, she said. “So you have to prioritize,” focusing first on food, shelter and transportation, she said. “Until the economy changes, there’s nothing we can do but live with it.”

Campagnone said that she, too, will have to tighten her belt. “I’ll live like I live this year — try to keep things under control, and do the best I can,” she said.

ndowning@projo.com