Your 2026 Social Security Raise Is Already Falling Behind Inflation. Here's the Gap.
Key Points
The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment was 2.8%.
Rising energy prices caused a big jump in March's inflation numbers.
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To help fight inflation and help Social Security recipients preserve some of their purchasing power, Social Security provides an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that kicks in at the beginning of each year. This year, recipients received a 2.8% boost.
This 2026 COLA was higher than 2025's, but unfortunately, many recipients felt it wouldn't come close to offsetting rising prices. And with recently released inflation figures, they're right to feel that way. In March, inflation increased by 0.9% to 3.3%. That leaves a 0.5% gap from this year's COLA.
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This inflation figure is based on the consumer price index (CPI), which tracks the costs of goods and services such as food, housing, and energy. The main cause of the inflation bump is the rising energy costs amid the war in the Middle East. Energy prices rose 12.5% from last March, gasoline rose 18.9%, and fuel oil rose 44.2%.
A trip to your local gas station will, undoubtedly, confirm that prices have jumped up since the start of the conflict. Rising gas prices are a problem for everyone, but they can be especially impactful for people who rely on fixed Social Security payments. Unfortunately, a COLA is based on inflation data from the previous year, so it can't be adjusted in real time to address current events.
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