Small Social Security Boost Won't Do Much for Seniors as Trump Policies Jack Up Living Costs

The Social Security Administration on Friday announced a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for beneficiaries, a small increase that advocates said would be mostly or entirely offset by surging healthcare premiums and other price hikes fueled by President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies and Republican legislation passed earlier this year.

The 2.8% raise—the second-smallest since 2021—will amount to just over $50 extra per month for the average Social Security recipient. The projected 11.6% increase in Medicare Part B premiums next year would wipe out around 40% of the COLA increase for seniors.

Nancy Altman, president of the progressive advocacy group Social Security Works, noted in a statement Friday that "the situation is even worse" for Social Security recipients who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace because they are not yet eligible for Medicare. The federal government is currently shut down because congressional Republicans are refusing to extend ACA subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025, sending premiums soaring.

"ACA premiums are projected to skyrocket next year, with those over 50 hit hardest," Altman said. "For many of these beneficiaries, the COLA increase won't come close to covering their increased healthcare premiums."

Another factor that could eat into the Social Security COLA is the impact of Trump's tariffs on prescription drug prices, which are already far higher in the US than in other wealthy nations. Overall, as KFF Health News reported last month, "Medicare enrollees who buy the optional Part D drug benefit may see substantial premium price hikes—potentially up to $50 a month—when they shop for next year's coverage."

"Seniors on fixed incomes are rightly concerned that the Social Security COLA is not keeping pace with the true impact of inflation on their living costs—especially in areas where prices are soaring," said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "Medical, housing, and grocery costs are outstripping the COLA."

"If billionaires and the wealthiest 1% pay their fair share, we can boost benefits for everyone and guarantee the program’s solvency for future generations."

Social Security lifts more people out of poverty than any other US government program, but experts and advocates have long argued that its benefits should be expanded and the COLA formula reformed to combat the growing financial struggles of older Americans. The senior poverty rate in the US rose to 15% last year, according to US Census Bureau data.

Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said Friday that "strengthening and expanding Social Security must be a national priority."

"If billionaires and the wealthiest 1% pay their fair share, we can boost benefits for everyone and guarantee the program's solvency for future generations," said Fiesta. "Instead of working to protect Social Security, too many members of Congress and Trump administration officials are pushing to raise the retirement age, cut benefits, and even privatize the program. Older Americans have earned these benefits through a lifetime of work; they should not have to fight to keep them."