Social Security Retirees May Be Wishing for Something They Really Don't Want
Some seniors may want to adjust their line of thinking.
By Maurie Backman
Around this time each year, Social Security recipients tend to start looking for clues on a key number -- their upcoming cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. Who can blame them?
Social Security COLAs are meant to help benefits keep up with inflation. In the wake of this year's somewhat meager 2.8% raise, a lot of older Americans are hoping 2027's COLA will be far more generous.
If you're hoping for a larger Social Security COLA in 2027, that line of thinking is understandable. But it may also be seriously flawed.
Bigger COLAs usually mean bigger inflation problems
Social Security COLAs aren't random. They're based on changes to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which tracks a basket of common consumer goods and services.
When there's a rise in the CPI-W during the third quarter of the year compared to the previous year, Social Security benefits get an increase. The more elevated the CPI-W is year over year, the more generous a COLA seniors get.
A large 2027 COLA might sound great on the surface. But for next year's COLA to far surpass this year's 2.8% raise, higher inflation will need to be sustained throughout the summer months. That could hurt retirees on fixed incomes, as well as cash-strapped working Americans.
Think of it this way. If a pipe bursts at home and causes a boatload of damage, your homeowners insurance company might send you a large check to cover it, but that doesn't mean you're in a great situation. You may have a big payday coming your way, but it's going to be eaten up by the cost of fixing your damaged walls and floors.
A more generous 2027 COLA would probably play out similarly, albeit without the physical mess. Yes, your benefits might increase quite a bit. However, that raise will likely get eaten up by higher prices at the pump, grocery store, and just about everywhere.
Will you come out a winner, financially speaking? Not necessarily.
The best you can typically hope for is to break even
If you're still convinced that a giant 2027 Social Security COLA is what you want, think back to the enormous raises benefits got following the pandemic's height. It may have been nice to see those big checks hit your bank account, but all of your extra money was probably going toward the higher cost of basics like food, utilities, and gas.
The same could easily hold true in 2027. While inflation isn't as rampant these days as it was in 2022, higher costs are stretching a lot of people thin. If you end up with a larger Social Security COLA next year, you'll probably find yourself in a similar situation to 2023, where you're not actually any better off financially.
One thing to remember about Social Security COLAs is that they're not designed to help retirees get ahead financially. They're simply meant to keep up with inflation. The best you can generally hope for is that you'll be able to break even from year to year.
Plus, don't forget that Medicare could erode your upcoming Social Security raise if the cost of Part B rises substantially in 2027, like it did this year. If you're not yet on Medicare, that's obviously not an issue. But for dual enrollees, it's common for Part B hikes to eat into COLAs, even when those raises are more generous.
What retirees should really want
Instead of rooting for the largest COLA possible, what you may want to hope for is a period of stable inflation. Steady prices can make it easier to budget and manage ongoing bills.
A massive COLA might seem like something to get excited about at first, but it's simply a sign that inflation is staying elevated, which isn't a win.
As you keep reading the news and looking out for 2027 COLA projections, keep your expectations in check, and be very careful what you wish for. The large number you may be hoping for could end up being something that hurts you financially and causes you a world of financial strain in the near term.