In advocating for higher COLAs, we’re advocating for more accurate COLAs.
Each year, retirees risk losing financial ground due to a flawed Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) formula that underrepresents the true expenses of aging.
Currently, COLAs are based on the CPI-W, which reflects the spending habits of younger, urban workers. This metric overlooks the financial realities of seniors, who face disproportionately higher costs in areas like healthcare, housing, and prescription drugs. The result is a persistent erosion of purchasing power – an outcome both unfair and avoidable unless changes are made.
How Can We Achieve More Accurate (and Fairer) COLAs?
Modernizing COLAs by adopting a more representative index, such as the CPI-E, is a practical and equitable solution. It would ensure adjustments better align with the economic pressures retirees actually face.
Lawmakers should also consider changes to tax brackets. The current income limits, set decades ago, have not kept pace with inflation, resulting in more seniors paying taxes on benefits each year. This is all while the ultra-wealthy avoid paying proportionally into the program. Updating these brackets would restore fairness without undermining the program’s funding.
Meanwhile, conversations around preserving and strengthening the Trust Fund are critical. Ensuring long-term solvency and improving benefit accuracy are not mutually exclusive – they’re both necessary to uphold the integrity of the system.
Seniors have fulfilled their end of the bargain. It’s time for the system to do the same. Failing to deliver fair, responsive benefit adjustments is not just a policy oversight – it’s a disservice to those who built this country’s economy.
Advocating for these updates isn’t about politics – it’s about responsibility. We must modernize the system to ensure Social Security remains secure, equitable, and true to its original promise.
Help The Seniors Center Protect the Future of Social Security
The Seniors Center is committed to finding solutions to strengthen and protect the Social Security Trust Fund. Social Security is a contract between citizens and the government. Money deposited in the Trust Fund should only be used to pay benefits to eligible recipients.
The Seniors Center is demanding Congress finally put a stop to the careless borrowing and spending by greedy politicians that has put our Trust Fund and our secure retirement in jeopardy.
At The Seniors Center, our goal is to help seniors, and we’re doing that by protecting the future of Social Security. Retirees shouldn’t have to worry about losing their hard-earned benefits to taxes or the agendas of greedy politicians. If you agree, we invite you to sign our petition today! And follow The Seniors Center on Twitter and Facebook for more updates!
