Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Social Security recipients will get a 2.8% cost of living increase in 2026. It's an average increase of about $56 per month.
"That's something, but it's not enough to resolve the financial pressures that people around Western New York and beyond have been feeling because of historically high inflation and prices that are still high," said Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.
The news impacts nearly 71 million Social Security recipients. It was meant to be announced last week but was delayed because of the government shutdown.
The figure is a reminder to some of what it may take to get through retirement.
"What we can control is funding our own social security, that is by going through a 401k program or using an Individual Retirement Account," Hamrick said. "Another part of the math is to think about the expenses side. The other solution people look at is maybe I can bring down the cost of living that I have when I'm in retirement."
Hamrick said the typical way of doing that would be downsizing your home or finding a less expensive living situation.
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