The 2023 cost-of-living adjustment for Social Securityis 8.7%.

They’re not alone.

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Is the 2023 COLA high enough?

This year’s COLA was 5.9%, itself a 40-year record broken only this year.

But the annual inflation rate was 7.7% for the 12 months that ended in October 2022.

In June, it peaked at 9.1%.

“We anticipate an ongoing shortfall in 2023,” Senior Citizens League policy analyst Mary Johnson told CNET.

The National Council on Aging called next year’s increase “insufficient.”

How much do retirees depend on Social Security?

There’s serious debate about how heavily older Americans rely on their benefits.

“It all depends on how you calculate the figures,” Johnson said.

“And obviously there are reasons to make that number appear smaller.”

Does Social Security need to change how it calculates the Cost of Living Adjustment?

One common complaint is about how the COLA is tabulated.

Johnson agrees the CPI-W isn’t an entirely accurate assessment.

“There are obviously differences in how these two groups spend money.”

The CPI-W, for example, skews heavily toward gas prices, which impact seniors less.

But the CPI-E Larson is promoting isn’t perfect either, Johnson said.

“Right now it’s not a fully funded index, like the CPI-W,” she said.

“It’s more of a research tool used to study spending patterns.