Retirees are often thought to be living on fixed incomes, but most of them are collecting Social Security benefits, and those benefits are not exactly fixed -- because they're increased nearly every year via cost of living adjustments (COLAs).

The Social Security Administration's 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) has left many beneficiaries feeling shortchanged. As inflation continues to rise, the modest increase in benefits may not be enough to cover the growing cost of living.

The latest cost-of-living projection shows that seniors could see a decrease in Social Security benefits. The 2026 COLA is estimated to be around 2.3%, making the prediction 0.2% lower than last year’s COLA of 2.5%, according to the Senior Citizens League.