There is talk among the experts who track these things that the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will rise 3.8% for 2027. This is down slightly from their guess of 3.9% just two months ago.
In other words, we can’t take that estimated increase in our Social Security benefit to the bank just yet.
There is room for change between now and October, when the official 2027 figures come out based on July, August and September numbers.
One thing that’s not likely to change, however, is that seniors are struggling, especially the over 24 million of us who have only Social Security for income.
One thing that many of us object to is the method used to calculate Social Security increases each year. Those increases are based on the CPI-W, or Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
That index measures the spending habits of people who receive more than half of their income from clerical or hourly jobs.
According to the Department of Labor, the average person in that group is 40 years old — much younger than the typical Social Security recipient. That’s not us.
Consumers in that age group spend in different ways, more on transportation and clothing, while we spend a bigger chunk of our income on health care and prescription drugs.
Many of us, therefore, keep asking why the alternative CPI-E, or Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, isn’t used to calculate Social Security increases.
The answer: The Bureau of Labor Statistics considers the CPI-E to be experimental. After all these years, with so many millions of us on Social Security, we’re an experiment?
Take a look at the Senior Citizens League website at seniorsleague.org and scroll through the articles, especially their recent survey of seniors and income.
Their goal is to protect our benefits, whether it’s Social Security, Medicare or for veterans. Their numbers are solid and can be trusted.
