Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is renewing her call to change how Social Security cost-of-living increases are calculated after federal officials announced a 3.6% benefit adjustment for 2027.
The Social Security Administration says the increase will reach nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries beginning with benefits paid in January. Increased Supplemental Security Income payments to about 7.3 million recipients will begin Dec. 31. The agency estimates the average retirement benefit will rise about $75 a month.
In a statement following the announcement, the New York Democrat urged Congress to pass her Boosting Benefits and COLAs for Seniors Act. The proposal would use a consumer price index intended to reflect spending by Americans 62 and older, known as the CPI-E, instead of the current index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, or CPI-W.
Gillibrand argues the change would better reflect older adults' spending on health care and prescriptions. The measure remains a proposal; the 2027 increase is being calculated under the existing formula. She also said she had asked the Bureau of Labor Statistics to improve its data collection for the CPI-E.
The SSA's 2027 fact sheet says the 3.6% adjustment is based on the change in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026. Individual benefit increases will vary.
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