"Each year, retirees depend on Social Security to help them cover their essential costs in retirement. Social Security is a lifeline for seniors who benefit from a guaranteed source of income that is protected against the effects of inflation due to periodic benefit increases. However, while Social Security is crucial to helping keep many retirees out of poverty and to allow others to enjoy a comfortable retirement, it is also a complicated program with many complex rules that far too many seniors don't understand."
"One of the challenges facing current and future retirees is that the rules for Social Security change over time. Many of these changes are built into the program, so they happen automatically. They also affect the finances of current retirees and of current workers who will depend on these benefits later in life. Everyone needs to understand how these key changes can impact their money, so here are three of them that everyone should know about for 2026."
Social Security provides a guaranteed source of income that is protected against inflation through periodic benefit increases. The program helps keep many retirees out of poverty and enables others to enjoy comfortable retirements. The rules of Social Security are complex and change over time, with many changes built into the program that occur automatically. Those built-in changes affect current retirees and current workers who will rely on benefits later. For 2026, the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is 2.8 percent, a slightly larger increase than in 2025. The COLA uses the CPI-W, which may not match retirees' actual spending patterns, so everyone should understand how these changes can impact retirement finances.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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