The Social Security Administration announced on Oct. 14 that benefits will rise 3.6% next year through the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), or roughly $75 more a month ($900 a year) for the average retired worker starting in January. Some call it the 'Trump Bump,' but the article says inflation driving the increase was partly fueled by Trump's tariffs and the Iran war's disruption of energy markets. Max Richtman of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said the increase 'won't be enough for most seniors to even tread water financially,' while the National Council on Aging argued the COLA does not reflect older adults' real costs, especially health care. An AARP survey found 76% of adults 50 and older believed a prospective 3.5% COLA would not keep up with prices. The article also presents gold as a way to preserve purchasing power, noting it has climbed 130% over the past five years.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on aol.com ↗
Related news
- ‘Trump Bump’ to Social Security is about to make history — here are 3 ways to take advantage (while everyone waits)
The article says the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security will be set by the September Consumer Price Index report due Oct. 14. The Senior Citizens League projects a 3.5% increase, a figure echoed by policy analyst Mary Johnson according to CNBC, which the article describes as the highest in three years. It cites a Federal Reserve Bank of New York paper finding that tariffs under the Trump administration raised prices in 67 consumer goods categories by 2.9% between 2025 and 2026; without tariffs, those prices would have fallen by nearly 1%. The article also links military action against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to higher fuel prices, with diesel hitting a historic $6 a gallon per the Associated Press. It also presents gold and rental real estate as ways for fixed-income retirees to guard against inflation.
- Social Security recipients to get a 3 . 6 % increase next year . Some say it not enough
- Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 may be above average. Some say it's not enough
Experts estimate the 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) could reach 3.5% to 3.6%, the largest in three years, though the official figure will depend on the latest inflation data. An AARP survey of 1,023 adults aged 50 and older found 76% think a 3.5% increase would not be enough, and many worry about rising Medicare costs. The Medicare Part B standard premium is projected to rise from $202.90 to $209.50 a month in 2027, which could eat into the increase. The Senior Citizens League estimates a 3.5% COLA would raise the average benefit by $67.90 a month, to about $2,008 from $1,940. The Trump administration is also sending one-time $90 payments to more than 20 million Medicare Part B enrollees.
- Expected bump to 2027 Social Security benefits slightly less than latest inflation numbers
The Social Security Administration projects a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027, adding $75 a month for roughly 1.7 million Virginians receiving benefits. That is slightly below the 3.7% year-over-year rise in September's Consumer Price Index reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An Old Dominion University economist expects inflation over the next three months to be slightly higher than 3.7%, depending on gasoline prices and the Iran war. Meanwhile, a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that helped 25 million Americans is set to end this year, and in an AARP poll, 94% of adults 50 and older said prices have risen in recent months.
- The 2027 Social Security COLA Will Boost Average Benefits by $901 Annually . Will It Be Enough ?
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 3.6%, which the article calls fairly large by historical standards and the fifth-highest in 35 years. Average monthly benefits for retired workers were about $2,087.52 in August, roughly $25,050 a year, so the increase adds about $901.80 annually. The higher adjustment follows the Iran war, which pushed oil prices and inflation up and led the Federal Reserve to raise rates once, with another hike expected before year-end. The Senior Citizens League says 2026 benefits are worth only about $0.836 on the dollar compared with 2016, a 13.7% loss in purchasing power over a decade, and argues a CPI-E measure would better reflect seniors' costs. The article concludes that high COLAs may not fully solve affordability problems for retirees.
- The 2027 Social Security COLA Will Boost Average Benefits by $901 Annually. Will It Be Enough?
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 3.6%, well above expectations at the start of 2026, and would add about $901.80 a year to average retiree benefits of roughly $25,050. It is based on CPI-W data for July to September, and the article links the higher inflation to the Iran war, which pushed up oil prices and led the Federal Reserve to raise rates once, with another hike expected before year-end. The 3.6% figure is the fifth-highest COLA in 35 years, following 5.9% in 2021 and 8.7% in 2022. Still, the Senior Citizens League found benefits in 2026 were worth only about $0.836 on the dollar compared with 2016, a 13.7% loss in purchasing power that it partly attributes to the CPI-W formula. The article concludes that high COLAs have helped somewhat but likely will not solve retirees' affordability problems.
Related markets
Latest news
- Why Meta's Q3 earnings could be a little hard to interpret
Meta is reporting its third-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday, and Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi says the report will be hard to interpret. Recent good news on Meta's AI products, including new models and an AI agent, may not appear directly in the results but will likely be discussed on the earnings call. The key uncertainty is how investors will react if Meta raises its capex outlook again: it could be seen as fueling those products, or as overspending on offerings not yet reflected in financials. Sozzi expects the market to give Meta the benefit of the doubt on higher capex, as long as the increase does not shock investors.
- Zerohash rolls out a new tool to move crypto without copying wallet addresses
Zerohash launched AUTH, a service that lets users move crypto, stablecoins and blockchain-based stock tokens between linked exchange accounts or self-custody wallets without copying wallet addresses or choosing a blockchain network. To transfer, users pick an account in an app that offers AUTH, sign in and approve the move, while the service handles routing and settlement and each app sets which assets and transfer types it allows. AUTH supports more than 600 connections, including Coinbase, Robinhood, Gemini, MetaMask and Phantom, with Coinbase, Robinhood and Gemini live and Kraken in beta. The launch comes as Zerohash's application for a national trust bank charter, returned by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in July, remains pending after a narrower refiling on Aug. 18.
- 2 charts show why Wall Street is right to worry about tech stocks
Rising cost of capital could affect the financial statements of hyperscalers such as Oracle (ORCL) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in 2027, as they need fresh debt to fund AI infrastructure and free cash flow may turn negative. JPMorgan strategist Mislav Matejka forecasts hyperscaler free cash flow will turn negative in 2027, implying credit markets will drive more of the AI build-out. Consensus estimates for 2027 capital expenditures are already rising from levels experts believe are too low. Morgan Stanley sees total 2027 capex among hyperscalers reaching $1.6 trillion, up from $978 billion estimated for this year. Dan Ives of Yorkville expects capex to reach the trillions and over 1,000 datacenters to be built in the next few years.
- Update on loan rate cuts as of the evening of Oct 19: MB, VietinBank, SHB, OCB join in
SHB, MB, VietinBank and OCB have announced loan rate cuts, following Agribank, Vietcombank, BIDV, ACB, LPBank and VietBank, with typical reductions of 1.5-2% per year. MB is cutting 1.5% per year for five priority sectors, to rates from 7.9% per year, and up to 2% in some cases; VietinBank is cutting up to 2% per year, while OCB offers up to 2.25% per year on some medium- and long-term loans for OCB Priority Banking members. SHB is cutting 1.5-2% per year for businesses and households and offers rates from 5.5% per year for lecturers and students at some universities. Vietcombank commits to cutting at least 2% through year-end, BIDV applies rates from 6% per year on short-term VND loans from 15/10/2026, and VietBank runs a VND 3,000 billion package. Specific benefits depend on borrower type, loan purpose, term and program conditions, following directives from the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam.
- Nvidia wins CPU business from Modal, previously exclusive to AMD and Intel
Modal, a San Francisco-based AI cloud startup that previously ran its AI agent workloads only on Intel and AMD processors, will begin using Nvidia's new Vera CPU. Early tests showed the Nvidia chip doubled work capacity for AI agents, and Modal plans to run it alongside Intel and AMD chips, assigning each task to the most efficient hardware, though integration requires substantial software changes. Modal recently raised $750 million in a round led by Accel at a $15.75 billion valuation and expects $1 billion in sales over the next year, with usage tripled and revenue up more than 15 times year-over-year. Nvidia projects at least $20 billion in Vera chip revenue this fiscal year in a market it estimates at about $200 billion, and says OpenAI, Anthropic, Oracle and Perplexity also plan to use the chips.
- America's EV Plans Have Died
Billions of dollars went into EV factories, dealerships and marketing after President Biden set a goal for 50% of new US car sales to be zero-emission by 2030, but EV sales have since fallen sharply. US EV sales dropped 30.7% in the first nine months of 2026, after the $7,500 tax credit expired on September 30 last year, and gas prices near $4.50 per gallon have done little to lift them. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average transaction price of a new EV was $54,754 in August, above the $50,089 average for all new cars. Ford's EV sales fell 80.2% to 6,047 in the third quarter, and it has no new EV planned until its Fathom launches next year, while Tesla holds over 50% of the market and no other major automaker has even 10%. The article says EVs could recover if gas prices reach $5 and stay there for months, but that is uncertain.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.