“A projected 2.8 percent COLA for 2027 would leave seniors with no real improvement in purchasing power, as benefits would rise at the same rate as they did this year despite prices remaining significantly higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
For many retirees living on fixed incomes, even small differences in annual COLAs can have a major impact. Costs that disproportionately hit older Americans, such as housing, utilities, groceries and medical care, have not meaningfully returned to pre‑inflation levels, making a flat year‑over‑year increase more difficult to absorb.”
Social Security Update: New COLA Estimate Could Be Bad News for Seniors – Newsweek