The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a seniors group, predicted that Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2028 would be 3.6 percent.
TSCL called on the incoming 120th Congress to issue seniors a one-time $1,400 stimulus payment to offset rising inflation and COLAs the group described as inadequate, according to a Nov. 10 statement.
The annual inflation rate rose from 2.4 percent in January to 3.7 percent in September, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the same period, the 12-month change in energy prices went from minus 0.1 percent to 20.4 percent. Gasoline prices in January were 7.5 percent lower than a year earlier, while in September they were 34.2 percent higher than a year earlier.
Many seniors have complained about COLA failing to reflect the inflation they experience, according to TSCL. In a 2026 TSCL survey, 89 percent of respondents said they felt the 2026 COLA was too low and that their benefits would fall behind inflation.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) had announced a 3.6 percent COLA for 2027 in October.
The 2027 COLA is the largest annual increase for Social Security beneficiaries in four years.
TSCL highlighted the insolvency issue facing Social Security funds in its latest statement. Once insolvency sets in, benefits can get reduced for millions of people.
The Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays benefits to retirees and survivors of deceased workers, is projected to pay 78 percent of scheduled benefits once its reserves are depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, the SSA said in June.
TSCL also highlighted that the Medicare Part A trust fund is estimated to become insolvent in 2033, warning that millions of people already avoid getting dental, vision, and hearing care due to unaffordability.
The group urged lawmakers to reverse what it described as cuts to Medicare and Medicaid under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and to add vision, hearing, and dental care to Medicare.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the law’s health provisions would reduce federal outlays by $1.1 trillion over 10 years, according to an August 2025 Congressional Research Service report. Most of the law’s Medicaid provisions were expected to reduce federal Medicaid spending, while its Medicare provisions were estimated to increase Medicare spending, the report said.
Tackling Insolvency
The senators set to take office on Jan. 3, 2027, will play a crucial role in determining the future of Social Security, TSCL said in the latest statement. These lawmakers are expected to serve through Jan. 3, 2033, with their terms coinciding with the Social Security trust fund’s estimated insolvency.
“The incoming class of Senators face an enormous responsibility. Americans have chosen these elected representatives to protect seniors’ dignity and rights, to protect benefits for today’s retirees while reforming Social Security taxes to ensure the program continues to serve generations to come,” TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton said in the statement.
Benton said benefits reform is possible even when different parties control Congress and the White House.
Ensuring that Americans can retire with dignity is neither a left- nor right-wing issue, nor a Democratic or Republican one, since everyone stands to lose if Congress fails to protect seniors, she added.
TSCL highlighted that Americans do not pay Social Security taxes on incomes exceeding $184,500 in 2026, and that removing this limitation could help deal with Social Security’s insolvency.
Marc Goldwein, senior vice president at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, laid out various solutions to save Social Security during an Aug. 5 Senate Finance Committee hearing.
Two very high-income earners retiring at age 67 can currently collect more than $100,000 in annual Social Security benefits. Limiting this to $100,000 for a couple, and $50,000 for an individual, could close one-fifth to one-half of the solvency gap facing Social Security funds, Goldwein said.
Another solution is to limit the COLAs for the wealthiest seniors, matching their yearly benefit hikes to those of lower, but still high-income, seniors, he said.
“The policy would close up to one-quarter of the solvency gap in a progressive manner while maintaining inflation protection on an adequate level of benefit for everyone,” Goldwein said.
