So I'm not seeing any of this growth on my end, pay raise got eaten up in health increase and increase on my pension share.
You are paying less in taxes. Depends on your income and tax rate, but you are probably taking home $2,000-$2,500 more this year then last year. Even without a pay raise.
Blame the health increase on the failure to kill Obamacare. Unshackling insurance companies from having to offer you things like pregnancy coverage, well baby care and other mandates that you probably don't need and allowing insurance companies to offer employers cafeteria plans for their employees where they can pick and chose the coverages the employees want, just like you do with your car insurance.
And your pension share increased ?? Cry me a river, go talk to the 80% of Americans that aren't covered by a Pension. That money is still yours, you'll get it back (with interest) when you retire. The rest of us...not so much. And I'm still limited to how much I can contribute to my IRA, and there's no matching or employer contribution for that. ANd that money is still yours and you will get i