(NewsNation) — Inflation is climbing again, which means Social Security recipients could see a bigger boost in their monthly checks next year.
The Senior Citizens League predicts that next year’s cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, will be 3.9% — up from 2.8% this year.
If that happens, it would increase the average Social Security check for retired workers by about $80 a month to $2,162, TSCL said.
The latest estimate is notably higher than TSCL’s earlier projections and comes as inflation accelerated 3.8% in April from a year earlier, the fastest annual pace in three years.
“Many seniors are telling us the same thing: As inflation picks back up, life still does not feel affordable,” Shannon Benton, TSCL executive director, said in a statement.
High energy prices linked to the war in Iran have helped push inflation higher in recent months, though it remains unclear whether the trend will carry into the period used to calculate next year’s COLA.
The government determines the COLA by comparing average inflation from July through September with the same period a year earlier. So if inflation shifts over the summer, the COLA could end up higher or lower than current projections.
A 3.9% benefit boost would mark the largest Social Security COLA increase since 2023, when beneficiaries received an 8.7% bump after inflation soared in 2022.
Over 71 million people received Social Security benefits in April, including retirement, disability and survivor payments.
The Social Security Administration will announce the official COLA in October, and any increase would show up in January 2027 checks.
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Source: Here’s what your Social Security COLA could be in 2027