It’s the largest COLA hike in years. Some say it isn’t enough

(NEXSTAR) – The Social Security Administration on Wednesday announced one of the largest cost-of-living adjustments in years for beneficiaries, but at least one organization says it isn’t enough.

The annual adjustment, known as a COLA, is designed to help those who receive Social Security benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), retain their buying power amid rising inflation. COLAs are based on the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which serves as a measure of the change in prices for common goods and services. While the CPI-W is updated monthly, only the data from July, August and September are considered when calculating the annual COLA adjustment for the following year.

Inflation rose in September, data released Wednesday showed, fueling a COLA of 3.6 percent for 2027. It’s the largest hike since 2023 and one of the largest since 2000.

Despite its size, The Senior Citizens League — which most recently projected the 2027 COLA would be 3.5........

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