By now, all seniors on Social Security should have gotten their first checks for 2025. With the latest 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in effect, the average benefit has climbed to $1,976 per month.

The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior group, recently released their monthly COLA estimate, predicting that it would moderate to 2.1% in 2026.

Social Security benefits received a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2025, but for many retirees, this is not enough to keep up with rising prices. Their monthly checks don't go as far as they used to,

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied to Social Security payments in any given year is based on CPI-W inflation from the third quarter of the previous year. In that sense, COLAs are a reimbursement mechanism to compensate retirees for the buying power benefits lost in the previous year.