It’s the largest COLA hike in years. Some say it isn’t enough

(NEXSTAR) – The Social Security Administration on Wednesday announced one of the largest cost-of-living adjustments in years for beneficiaries, but at least one organization says it isn’t enough.

The annual adjustment, known as a COLA, is designed to help those who receive Social Security benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), retain their buying power amid rising inflation. COLAs are based on the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which serves as a measure of the change in prices for common goods and services. While the CPI-W is updated monthly, only the data from July, August and September are considered when calculating the annual COLA adjustment for the following year.

Inflation rose in September, data released Wednesday showed, fueling a COLA of 3.6 percent for 2027. It’s the largest hike since 2023 and one of the largest since 2000 .

Despite its size, The Senior Citizens League — which most recently projected the 2027 COLA would be 3.5 percent — said it may not be enough.

“Another year, another COLA that falls short of expectations,” TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton said in a Wednesday press release . She added that while prices are rising now, “benefits stay the same for months due to an outdated COLA methodology.”

TSCL’s press release noted that the COLA is based on inflation that has “already occurred.”

The group also pointed to its 2025 and 2026 surveys in which 94 percent and 89 percent of respondents, respectively, said they felt the most recent COLAs had been too low, leaving their benefits to fall behind inflation.

“Working people can request a raise or seek a higher-paying position, but seniors have to make lifestyle cuts or drain their savings until the next COLA,” Benton said.

An AARP poll from September found that about three-quarters of those 50 or older disagreed with the idea that a 3.5% COLA in 2027 would be enough to keep up with rising prices.

Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy group, said the latest inflation data shows that “as important as the Social Security COLA is, it is not keeping up with prices.”

Lorrie Ufkin, a 71-year-old retiree who lives outside Rochester, Minnesota, said the COLA will not put a dent in her healthcare costs, which are set to increase after the Trump administration concludes at year’s end a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that has helped offset premiums. Ufkin said that her premiums and drug costs are expected to rise, although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has projected a modest increase for most people.

The COLA “doesn’t even meet what they’re going to do for changes to Medicare,” she told The Associated Press.

Nexstar’s Michael Bartiromo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.