Social Security's 2024 COLA Increase Expected to Shrink Significantly.

Estimates show that next year's Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will likely be less than half of the increase seniors enjoyed in 2023, with predictions of a 3.1% to 3.2% increase, compared to the 8.7% boost this year. The smaller COLA may not be enough for the more than 70 million retired senior citizens and disabled workers who are still struggling with rising prices, a persistent problem with how COLAs are measured. The actual COLA is calculated by averaging together the CPI-W consumer price index for the third quarter of the year and then comparing that figure with the same data last year.