Overview
- The Social Security Administration has finalized a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, with most benefit increases beginning in January and SSI changes at year-end 2025.
- Senate Democrats introduced S. 3078, led by Elizabeth Warren, to provide an additional $200 per month from January through June to Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement, and VA beneficiaries.
- The bill’s summary says the payments would not be taxed or counted as income, and further details remain pending as the proposal awaits action.
- A Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget white paper urges a dollar cap on annual COLA increases for high-benefit recipients, projecting savings of about $115 billion over 10 years if set at the 75th percentile.
- Newsweek reports related ideas under discussion, including Democrats’ Fair Share Act to tax income above $400,000 for Social Security and a bipartisan Cassidy–Kaine plan to create a diversified investment fund, with the push driven by projections of roughly 24% benefit cuts in late 2032 without reforms.