Think your next Social Security raise will be enough? Think again

If you were disappointed in your 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, that's understandable. Earlier this year, benefits rose just 2.8%.

Granted, that boost was higher than the 2.5% COLA that came through the year before. But in 2022, 2023, and 2024, Social Security COLAs came to 5.9%, 8.7%, and 3.2%, respectively. So it's easy to see why this year's 2.8% raise just didn't cut it for many retirees.

The good news is that current estimates are pointing to a larger Social Security COLA in 2027. But retirees shouldn't necessarily expect that raise to help them maintain their buying power.

Current projections are calling for a 2027 Social Security COLA in the 3.4% to 3.6% range. The COLA won't be made official until mid-October, since the Social Security Administration needs to wait on key inflation data from September to run that calculation.

Still, even the low end of that range would be a significant increase over this year's COLA. And many seniors may end up relatively happy with that raise — at least at first.

But in reality, a 3.4% COLA is likely to fall short. So is a 4.4% COLA or an even larger one, for that matter.

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/