Social Security recipients fear tariffs will outpace COLA
Updated
Updated · Newsweek · May 8
Social Security recipients fear tariffs will outpace COLA
11 articles · Updated · Newsweek · May 8
A Nationwide Retirement Institute survey found 66% of current recipients and 69% of future beneficiaries expect tariff-driven inflation to exceed annual benefit increases.
The poll said 61% could not survive losing even half a monthly payment, while 52% cut discretionary spending and 31% reduced essentials such as groceries and medications.
Retirees are especially exposed because food, housing and healthcare costs can rise faster than the CPI-W measure used for COLA, while more than four in five respondents worry about Social Security's long-term viability.
With tariffs raising living costs, will your Social Security benefits actually cover your essential expenses this year?
Could capping benefits for top earners be the key to ensuring Social Security's survival for everyone else?
The 2026 Social Security COLA: Why a 2.8% Increase Fails to Keep Pace with Retiree Inflation and Rising Medicare Costs
Overview
In October 2025, the SSA announced a 2.8% COLA increase for 2026, raising average Social Security benefits. However, this adjustment, based on the CPI-W index, underestimates retirees' real inflation, especially in healthcare and housing, causing a gap that erodes purchasing power. Tariffs imposed in early 2025 significantly raised prices for essential goods, fueling inflation that the COLA did not fully capture due to its backward-looking nature. Meanwhile, Medicare Part B premiums rose sharply, consuming over a quarter of the COLA increase and squeezing retirees' net benefits. Facing these challenges, many retirees adopt strategies like delaying benefits and managing healthcare costs, while proposals to reform COLA calculations aim to better reflect seniors' expenses but face funding hurdles.