The Social Security trust fund is predicted to run dry in about five years. This has experts and lawmakers scrambling to find a fix. One idea gaining traction is a flat-rate Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
According to Index Box, this idea, first floated in 1987, is seeing a resurgence of interest. A Flat-Rate COLA would set the annual COLA “at the dollar amount received by a beneficiary at the 20th percentile of earnings.”
An article by USA Today explains the concept, saying advocates believe “by doing this, lowest-income beneficiaries would receive larger benefits, poverty would be reduced, and Social Security’s insolvency would be delayed.”
However, critics of the flat-rate COLA “calculate that 80 percent of beneficiaries would see the purchasing power of their benefits erode year after year, leaving many in or near poverty.”
The articles point out that for many Social Security recipients, a flat-rate COLA would result in smaller COLAs — as much as $34 less per month in 2026 — as well as lower buying power.
Council of Seniors Is Here To Help Older Americans
All of us here at the Council of Seniors want to improve retirees’ financial futures and ensure they receive their full Social Security benefits. We are working with members of Congress to introduce the “Social Security Restitution Act.” It would provide an estimated $970 one-time payment to every retired worker receiving Social Security benefits, to help offset years of inadequate cost-of-living adjustments.
According to the Council of Seniors’ Executive Director Barbara Godwin, “For years, seniors have watched their Social Security checks fail to stretch as far as they should, while the cost of everyday essentials keeps climbing. This legislation is a straightforward, targeted way to help make up for COLAs that didn’t reflect what retired Americans were actually paying to get by.”
Please take a moment and sign our petition today to show your support.