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Social Security and inflation
A CNN Politics call for stories asks Americans whether “Social Security benefits are losing their buying power as inflation increases,” citing that Social Security benefits have lost nearly 14% of their buying power since 2016, according to a study from The Senior Citizens League.
“2025 has been another year marked by inflation, with price surges in many basic goods and services that deal a huge dent in the budgets of millions of vulnerable retirees”
The same CNN item says restoring that value would require monthly checks to increase by nearly $300, and it invites recipients to share how their benefits are affecting their ability to keep up with the cost of living.
In a separate proposal described by El Cronista, a group of Democratic senators introduced the Social Security Inflation Emergency Relief Act to provide an additional income for people who depend on Social Security, SSI, SSDI, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
El Cronista says the bill led by Senator Elizabeth Warren would deliver $200 per month for a six-month period as a temporary measure intended to mitigate price increases.
The article also frames the legislation as a “necessary bridge” until long-term reforms are discussed, including an update to the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).
Payment increases for 2026
Diario AS says the Social Security Administration (SSA) will send larger benefits in 2026 because the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2026 is calculated at 2.8%.
The same Diario AS item states that “Social Security and SSI benefits will rise by that percentage for the upcoming year,” and it describes the COLA as based on inflation changes so as not to affect beneficiaries’ purchasing power.
El Cronista’s proposal would add an additional payment directly to regular benefits “without requiring paperwork or additional applications,” contingent on Congress approving the bill.
It says the proposal contemplates a total transfer of $1,200, divided into six consecutive payments, with first disbursements potentially in the early months of 2026 if Congress advances it before the end of the fiscal year.
The article attributes the push to inflation’s impact on fixed incomes, quoting Warren that inflation “has dramatically reduced the purchasing power of people living on fixed incomes.”
Funding pressures and policy debate
The Debt Dispatch recounts Boccia’s argument that “Social Security’s finances may be in worse shape than thought,” tying the concern to overly optimistic fertility projections.
“Téléphonie, assurance, prêt bancaire”
It says Boccia told MarketWatch that if fertility follows projections from the CBO or the Census Bureau, Social Security’s 75-year deficit rises to at least $30 trillion, which the piece says is $3 trillion bigger than what the Trustees and the Social Security Administration project.
The same roundup describes Brookings’ Jessica Riedl explaining that borrowing to cover the combined Social Security and Medicare shortfall—$157 trillion over 30 years—would push debt held by the public to 240 percent of GDP.
It also quotes Urban’s Eugene Steuerle warning that the resulting squeeze leaves no room for anything else in the budget.
Separately, the roundup says C-SPAN’s Washington Journal aired a portion of Cato’s event “Social Security in the Red: Implications for Federal Debt,” where Boccia pressed a panel on why Washington shouldn’t just keep borrowing to pay benefits in full, asking: “We’re already borrowing to repay the Social Security Trust Fund. Why not keep borrowing to continue to pay Social Security benefits in full?”
