Social Security Announces 3.6% Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2027
The Social Security Administration has announced that recipients will receive a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2027, the largest increase since 2023 and one of the higher adjustments seen over recent years. The COLA is determined based on changes to the CPI-W inflation metric during July through September each year. While a welcome boost for beneficiaries, this adjustment does not address current inflation pressures immediately or fully offset long-term purchasing power losses due to under-indexing against actual senior expenses. According to advocacy groups like The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), Social Security benefits have lost 13.7% of their buying power since 2016. The COLA calculation process involves averaging the CPI-W for Q3, comparing it with the previous year's average, and setting the adjustment based on that difference. This year’s figures showed a consistent increase in inflation rates across July (3.4%), August (3.4%), and September (3.7%).
