<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Workers wish they had done these things when saving for retirement"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">There's a reason seniors on Social Security are entitled to annual cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs. Without those raises, their buying power would erode to an extreme degree in the course of retirement due to inflation.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The problem with COLAs, though, is that they've historically done a poor job of helping seniors stay afloat financially in light of inflation. This holds true even when COLAs are fairly generous.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Such is the case this year. Seniors on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fool.com/retirement/social-security/?utm_source=usa-today&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article&referring_guid=35c073ce-f601-46ef-9de3-1594979667e6" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">Social Security</a> were privy to a 5.9% COLA for 2022 – the most generous raise the program had dished out in decades. In spite of that, they're already losing buying power in a very big way.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://profile.usatoday.com/newsletters/the-daily-money/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">The Daily Money delivers our top personal finance stories to your inbox</a></p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><h2 class="gnt_ar_b_h2">Even a larger COLA can't keep up</h2><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Many seniors were happy to learn that their benefits would be rising by 5.9% in 2022. But so far, that raise is falling short.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">In January, the Consumer Price Index was up 7.5% on an annual basis. And while we don't have February's data yet, we can expect to see a comparable level of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/02/22/is-inflation-a-threat-for-pharma-stocks/?utm_source=usa-today&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article&referring_guid=35c073ce-f601-46ef-9de3-1594979667e6" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">inflation</a> one those numbers come in.</p><aside aria-label="advertisement" class="gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">As such, the 5.9% raise seniors got to kick off the year just isn't cutting it. And so many retirees are no doubt struggling financially these days in the face of rising living costs – particularly those who get most or, worse yet, all of their income from Social Security.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p"><strong>RETIREMENT PLANNING:</strong> <a target="_blank" href="/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2022/02/28/retirement-3-issues-making-planning-harder/49859935/" rel="noopener" data-t-l=":b|e|inline click|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a">These 3 issues are making it extra hard right now</a></p><h2 class="gnt_ar_b_h2">Avoiding a financial crunch</h2><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Social Security...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2022/03/01/social-security-recipients-losing-buyer-power-despite-cola-raise/49872541/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
