Tens of millions of Americans rely on Social Security benefits for a substantial portion of their retirement income. Not only is Social Security a valuable source of retirement income, with the average retired worker receiving about $1,975 per month, but it is also the only inflation-protected source of income many retirees have.

The non-partisan advocacy group The Senior Citizens League predicts the 2026 COLA will be 2.1%, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-W, the index used to calculate the annual increase. December’s CPI-W came in at 2.8%. Getty Images