Social Security 2026 raises are here again, but this time they may disappoint you.

Listen up: The US Social Security increase for 2026 is 2.8%, which is a rare occurrence of five consecutive years with growth of ≥2.5% in the past 30 years. The average monthly salary for 53 million retirees has risen from $2,015 to $2,071, with an annual salary approaching $25k.

But this is the problem -

📊 The surface has increased by 2.8%, but what about the actual?
- Medicare B premium skyrockets by 9.7% (+$17.9/month)
- The increase in medical and rent costs has exceeded 2.8%
- For the elderly, these two items account for a large portion of the budget.

In other words: salary increases may be eaten away by half, or even completely offset. 87% of social security recipients are aged 62 and over, with spending patterns completely different from younger people, yet the CPI calculation method still uses the shopping basket of urban office workers - a serious mismatch.

Data highlights: The social security system lifted 22 million people out of poverty last year, among which 16.3 million were elderly people aged 65 and above. However, ideals are plentiful, while reality is stark.