# Social Security 2026 Raise: Historic But Disappointing

The Social Security COLA for 2026 just dropped: **2.8% increase**, pushing the average retired-worker benefit to **$2,071/month (~$24,852/year)**. Sounds good? Not really.

Here's the catch: This is the 5th consecutive year of 2.5%+ raises—a streak not seen since 1997. But retirees are about to get hit harder than the numbers suggest.

**Why the raise falls short:**
- Medicare Part B premiums jumping **9.7% to $202.90/month** will eat a chunk of that raise
- Shelter and medical costs rising faster than 2.8% (the actual pain points for seniors)
- The COLA index (CPI-W) tracks urban workers' spending, not retirees' spending patterns—completely misaligned

**Bottom line:** 80-90% of retirees rely on Social Security to cover basic expenses. A 2.8% raise sounds historic until inflation in healthcare and housing (where retirees spend the most) outpaces it. That's the disappointment nobody talks about.