As the Social Security Administration announced its new cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026 — a modest increase of 2.8% that barely scratches the surface of today's runaway expenses — one fact stands painfully clear: America's retirees are falling behind.
Despite a lifetime of hard work and contributions, the average Social Security check today simply cannot sustain a basic, dignified life in the United States.
In August 2025, the average monthly benefit for retired workers was about $2,008, according to the Social Security Administration.
That may sound decent on paper, but when measured against the reality of rising rents, medical bills, food costs, and utilities, it's a cruel joke.
The federal poverty line for a single person is roughly $1,255 per month, but that number itself is outdated and doesn't reflect the real cost of living in America — especially in cities where many seniors reside.
In most regions, even the "average" retiree benefit leaves older Americans living one medical emergency or rent hike away from crisis.
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When Social Security was first enacted in 1935, it was designed as a safety net, not a full retirement plan.
At the time, it supplemented pensions and personal savings. But in 2025, that framework no longer holds. Defined-benefit pensions have all but disappeared from the private sector, and volatile 401(k)s and IRAs have failed to deliver consistent returns for millions of middle-class Americans.
For roughly half of retirees, Social Security now represents at least 50% of their total income. For nearly one in four, it accounts for 90% or more. Yet the benefits have not kept up with the realities of modern life. Medicare doesn't cover everything; out-of-pocket medical expenses continue to climb; and essentials like housing, utilities, and groceries have outpaced official inflation numbers for years.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average monthly wage for full-time workers is around $4,880 — more than double the average retiree's Social Security benefit.
For people who have worked for decades, often paying into the system every paycheck, this gap is indefensible.
The COLA Mirage
The annual COLA increase — meant to adjust benefits to inflation — has become more of a political talking point than a meaningful lifeline.
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For 2025, the increase was just over 3%, a modest bump that adds roughly $60 a month for most retirees.
But ask any senior what $60 covers today, and you'll hear the same answer: barely a week's worth of groceries, a small fraction of a prescription refill, or a single tank of gas in some states.
What's worse, the COLA formula itself — tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) — doesn't reflect seniors' actual spending patterns.
The CPI-W is weighted toward younger workers' expenses, not retirees', meaning it underestimates the costs that hit older Americans hardest: healthcare, prescription drugs, and housing.
Advocates have long argued for using a CPI-E, an index specifically tailored to elderly consumers. Yet Congress has failed to act.
Poverty in Plain Sight
Despite being one of the richest nations on Earth, the U.S. tolerates shocking levels of senior poverty.
Roughly 9% of Americans over 65 live below the official poverty line — but when healthcare and cost-of-living adjustments are factored in, researchers estimate the real rate of economic hardship among seniors is closer to 20%.
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Many older Americans quietly ration medications, skip meals, or go without heating or air conditioning to stretch their limited checks. They delay dental care or medical visits because Medicare doesn't fully cover them.
These aren't fringe cases — they are the daily realities of millions of retirees.
The Case for Raising Benefits
Increasing Social Security benefits isn't a handout; it's an overdue correction. Retirees paid into the system with the promise that their contributions would ensure security in old age. Instead, decades of political inaction have eroded that guarantee.
Adjusting benefits upward — by 10% to 20% — would lift millions of seniors above poverty and restore the original intent of the program: to provide security.
Yes, it would require new funding.
But there are solutions to this problem.
Some argue to remove the cap on taxable earnings (currently about $168,600), so that the wealthiest Americans pay the same share of their income into Social Security as everyone else.
Others say DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts, massive new tariff income and budget cuts from give-away programs could easily help fund a Social Security benefit hike.
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Such changes would extend the program's solvency by decades and fund a meaningful benefit increase.
It's also worth noting that Social Security is self-financed — it doesn't add to the national debt.
It is funded by payroll taxes and its own trust fund. The money seniors receive is the money they earned and contributed throughout their lives.
Dignity in Aging
The moral test of a nation is how it treats its most vulnerable — and that includes those who have already given their working years to build the society the rest of us enjoy.
No American should be forced to choose between food and medicine, rent and heat, simply because their Social Security benefit can't keep pace with reality.
Raising benefits is not just an act of compassion; it's an act of justice.
The cost of living today — from groceries to gas to healthcare — bears no resemblance to what existed when Social Security's formulas were last substantially updated. Seniors deserve a system that reflects today's economy, not one frozen in the past.
For too long, politicians have praised seniors while quietly starving the very program that sustains them. That must end. The United States can afford to ensure that its retirees — those who have worked, paid taxes, raised families, and built this nation — can live out their years with dignity, not despair.
It's time to raise Social Security benefits — not next year, not after another election, but now.
The promise of a secure retirement shouldn't be a relic of the past; it should be a guarantee of the American future.
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Jonathan Haymeier writes on politics, economics, and security matters for Newsmax.
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