Oct 19, 2026 · 2 min · 6 segments
Iowa Business Report Monday Edition October 19, 2026 National financial journalist Jordan Goodman on the recently announced cost of living increase for Social Security recipients in 2027.
Jeff SteinHostSo the number was 3.6% is the cost of living increased for 2027.
Last year was 3.5, so a little bit more than that.
That means the average Social Security recipient will get about $75 more per month than they were getting before.
So that's the good news.
The bad news is you also have to pay a higher premium for Medicare, which is taken right out of your Social Security.
That's going up about $6 a month, something
Now, this is the time to talk about Social Security, because while they're paying out these wonderful cost-of-living increases, the Social Security Trust Fund itself says, we've got six years to go, folks, before we basically run out of money to pay benefits at this level.
And if Congress does nothing, as they have done nothing for a long time, between now and 2032...
there will be a 22% immediate cut in Social Security benefits starting in 2032, which will put a lot of people into real trouble here.
That was in the baby boom's key working years, and the number of workers paying is going lower.
Everybody knows exactly what the problem is, and they also know what all the solutions are.
Nobody has the guts to actually do it, which is to raise taxes, cut benefits in various ways.
So the number was 3.6% is the cost of living increased for 2027.
Last year was 3.5, so a little bit more than that.
That means the average Social Security recipient will get about $75 more per month than they were getting before.
So that's the good news.
The bad news is you also have to pay a higher premium for Medicare, which is taken right out of your Social Security.
That's going up about $6 a month, something
Now, this is the time to talk about Social Security, because while they're paying out these wonderful cost-of-living increases, the Social Security Trust Fund itself says, we've got six years to go, folks, before we basically run out of money to pay benefits at this level.
And if Congress does nothing, as they have done nothing for a long time, between now and 2032...
there will be a 22% immediate cut in Social Security benefits starting in 2032, which will put a lot of people into real trouble here.
That was in the baby boom's key working years, and the number of workers paying is going lower.
Everybody knows exactly what the problem is, and they also know what all the solutions are.
Nobody has the guts to actually do it, which is to raise taxes, cut benefits in various ways.
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