By Jacob Fischler
States Newsroom
The cost-of-living adjustment is just below the inflation rate of 3% announced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, also on Friday.
The adjustment is lower than the average over the past decade, but higher than last year’s. The average adjustment for the past 10 years is 3.1%, including a 2.5% increase last year. On average, beneficiaries’ monthly payments will rise by about $56, the SSA said.
Beneficiaries include people who receive Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, as well as Supplemental Security Income.
“Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a statement. “The cost-of-living adjustment is a vital part of how Social Security delivers on its mission.”
The tax rate for Social Security and Medicare will remain steady at 7.65% for employees and 15.3% for self-employed workers.
6 comments:
I think my utility bill went up more than the total amount of this 2.8% increase.
Don't even bring up what has happened to the cost of my groceries!
9:52 agree 100% with your comment
This is good news - Yet, in September 2025, the US annual inflation rate was 3.0%, an increase from 2.9% in August - so we are already behind since the 2.8% increase does not go into effect until 2026. With the costs of everything going up and up people need to try and live and be more frugal.
What is also important is that we teach our children that the SSA (Social Security Administration), was created in 1935, to provide a safety net against economic hardship, particularly during the Great Depression. It is to provide a Supplemental Income and that you will still need to Save and Invest our own additional money, so you have enough Income to live comfortably in your Retirement Years, hopefully so you do not have to work to support yourselves in your golden years. Yet many have not Saved or Invested and so now they have to use it as a Primary Source of Income - the sooner we teach and educate our children about Saving, Investing, getting an Education or Training, and the difference in Wants and Needs, the better off their future will be. Today a good many kids, live their lives in a Wants Attitude, with the Drive-Thru as their Daily Meal Prep - since they are so influenced by the Social Media Influencers, Pro-Athletes, Advertisements, and Peer Crowds.
Unfortunately, most of us “boomers” grew up in the era, where you got a job at a hospital, factory or state job that had retirement plans, that was included in our salary. Those jobs and retirement benefits ended in the 1980’s. A lot of our retirement plans were dissolved or put in to 401K’s which went bust when the housing market collapsed in 2006. A lot of people have been scrambling since then to try to build any type of retirement back, while also caring for elderly parents and raising children. We all know that Social Security was not to be our primary retirement but with the obstacles constantly thrown in our paths, along with Covid, it has destroyed the ability to keep a healthy retirement. Then add the nonstop rising cost of housing, healthcare, and tariffs, it has rapidly depleted what little savings most have been able to save. If you get cancer or another catastrophic illness, you quickly lose the ability to even continue to work. I know what has been released about the inflation rate but my eyes, bills and bank account tell me differently. I know of thousands of other people who are seeing the same thing. I’m not buying what the government keeps saying about the current inflation rate nor the economy.
Yes, Trump's economy is a disaster and the American people are suffering.
12:13PM, Trump has been in office since January 20, 2025. You may not remember gas rationing during WWII or buying gas on even and odd days in the 1970's, but both eras and others had Democrats at the wheel.
What people need to realize that it doesn't matter who is in office - everyone needs to take responsibility for themselves and STOP LIVING OFF THE GOVERNMENT - become self-reliant. Get an education or training in a trade, get a job, work hard and live within your means, put money back for your retirement. Political Parties of who is in charge will come and go, if you can whether the storm and come out the other side is the important thing to remember for yourself or your family. Stop falling into the trap of the blame game, it will only exhaust you and stop you from making your individual future brighter, because in a few decades you can either be living the good life or full of a bunch of remorse - So live the good life - Go to work.
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