The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied to Social Security payments in any given year is based on CPI-W inflation from the third quarter of the previous year. In that sense, COLAs are a reimbursement mechanism to compensate retirees for the buying power benefits lost in the previous year.

The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior group, recently released their monthly COLA estimate, predicting that it would moderate to 2.1% in 2026.

Almost all Social Security beneficiaries are familiar with the most popular and publicized change: the increase in monthly benefit checks for 2025 due to the automated cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. As you already know, that increase will be 2.5%.

The Social Security COLA gives much-needed inflation protection to retirees. Each year’s COLA is calculated by comparing inflation data from the third quarter. The CPI-E would probably be a better way to help retirees keep up with rising costs.

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) mechanism, designed to safeguard the buying power of benefits against inflation, faces challenges as inflation trends upward. The COLA for 2025, based on inflation data from the third quarter of 2024,

Social Security is set to undergo several changes in 2025 that will impact millions of Americans. The average payment will increase by 2.5% due to a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). While this is a modest boost,

Social Security beneficiaries have relied on annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to maintain their purchasing power.