There are about 65 million Americans who rely on Social Security, and many of them are struggling with rising living costs. The Social Security program is struggling to keep up with inflation. Congress adopted a provision in 1972 that allows for an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to help senior citizens deal with the impact of inflation. One of the problems impacting those who rely on Social Security is that COLAs have not been that substantial in recent years. “Over the past 10 years, COLAs averaged closer to the 2% mark, and three of those years saw no COLA at all.” This article provides a chart from the Social Security Administration showing the annual COLAs. These COLAs are based on the consumer price index (CPI), but the problem with this is that the CPI is only a limited measurement of the rising cost of living.
See Maurie Backman, Will Social Security Keep Up With Inflation?, My San Antonio, March 27, 2016.
