Social Security Benefits Will Rise 3.6% in 2027—but Some Key Costs Are Rising Faster

The Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday that Social Security benefits will get a 3.6% boost in 2027, after a year of hotter-than-expected inflation.It's a sharp increase from the 2.8% adjustment beneficiaries received for 2026 and the largest bump since 2023, when benefits rose 8.7%.Even so, senior advocates are warning that it is too little too late.“Another year, another COLA that falls short of expectations," Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), said in a statement on Wednesday. “The reality is that millions depend on Social Security to retire with dignity, and today’s announcement puts that ideal in jeopardy for millions.”The adjustment will add about $75 per month to the average retired worker’s check starting in January, with the average monthly benefit rising from $2,095 before the adjustment to $2,170 afterward.Social Security calculates its annual cost-of-living adjustment by comparing the average CPI-W reading for July, August, and September with the average for the same three months a year earlier. This year, the index was up 3.4%, 3.5%, and 3.9%, respectively, from a year earlier.How rising prices are hitting housing...