If inflation keeps creeping up, retirees could see an even larger Social Security cost-of-living adjustment next year. A story by CNBC reveals that the 2023 COLA could be as high as 7.6 percent. That’s a huge jump from this year’s 5.9 percent increase, which was the largest in 40 years.

This should come as good news to millions of Social Security recipients struggling financially because of this year’s record high inflation. Even though this year’s COLA was the biggest increase in decades, it doesn’t make a dent when you consider how expensive basic necessities such as groceries and gas have gotten. Gas prices have skyrocketed since Russia declared war on the Ukraine. To help, some states are instituting gas tax holidays, lifting fuel taxes temporarily.

COLA Calculator

It’s obvious the Social Security COLA can’t keep up with the cost of life in America.

The Seniors Trust believes it’s time to adopt a different COLA calculator. It wants to see the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E) used, instead of Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The CPI-E more accurately takes into account the unique spending habits of seniors, especially when it comes to higher costs for healthcare, medicine, and housing. This would provide a much fairer cost-of-living adjustment for retirees.

Changing the COLA calculator is just one of the main tenets of the Social Security Expansion Act. This landmark piece of legislation would also provide retirees with an immediate Social Security benefits boost. It calls for increasing monthly benefits by about $65 on average, which would help put more money in the pockets of deserving retirees.

The Social Security Expansion Act would also shore up the long-term solvency of the program so that it remains intact for all retirees — today and tomorrow.