Social Security recipients will get a 3.6% bump in benefits in 2027

(CNN) — Senior citizens and other Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 3.6% boost in their monthly payments in 2027, the Social Security Administration announced Wednesday. It’s the largest cost of living adjustment since 2023.

However, many older Americans say the annual adjustments haven’t been enough to cover their ever-rising expenses.

Inflation has ticked up this year amid the ongoing war with Iran, which has sent gas and diesel prices soaring. But Social Security recipients only received a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.

The annual adjustment, known as a COLA, is based on an inflation metric from the third quarter of the prior year. A related metric, the Consumer Price Index, rose 3.7% in September compared with a year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday.

In 2023, Social Security beneficiaries saw an 8.7% increase, following the surge in inflation the year before.

Many senior citizens and their advocates have pushed for changes to the COLA to have it better reflect their actual cost of living, though others would like to reduce its generosity to help stabilize Social Security’s finances.

Social Security benefits have lost 13.7% of their buying power over the past decade, according to a recent analysis by The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group. Put another way, a dollar of benefits in 2016 is only worth 86 cents today.

Payments would have to jump by nearly $296 a month, or about $3,550 annually, to restore their buying power for the average beneficiary, the analysis found.