Social Security's Cost-of-Living Adjustment Could Be Higher Next Year

Although Social Security beneficiaries could experience a bigger cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year if current economic trends persist, inflation will determine how much further the money will go, according to CNBC . In its first official estimate for 2022, the Senior Citizens League estimated a potential 4.7 percent bump to benefits starting January 2022. This year, the bump was only 1.3 percent. Mary Johnson at the League said the current estimate is based on a 12-month average inflation forecast using data through April. "A lot will depend on if inflation holds until COLA is announced and then whether inflation starts slowly coming back down again, so that by January of 2022 it's lower than it is today," she noted. Analysis by the League of consumer price data through May showed that Social Security recipients have lost buying power, which Johnson said "could grow deeper in 2021" if current inflation trends continue.