July’s Supplemental Security Income payment, worth up to $967, will go out to millions of beneficiaries in 18 days. The next SSI payments are scheduled to be distributed on July 1. SSI payments are given to people living with debilitating disabilities that affect their income,

So rather than hope for a larger COLA in 2026, what retirees should actually hope for is a change to the way those raises are calculated. Using a more senior-specific index that measures changes in retiree costs like healthcare could lead to more generous COLAs in future years without requiring a scenario where everyone struggles due to inflation.

The agency that collects the data used to determine the cost-of-living-adjustment has had to pull back on how much data it uses.