Sponsors (4)
The bill aims to make Social Security COLAs better reflect seniors' actual cost increases (especially health and housing), improving benefit adequacy for older Americans, but likely raises long-term federal costs and creates some program mismatches and transitional administrative confusion.
Seniors and retirees will get COLAs calculated from a price index tailored to people 62+, so benefit adjustments are more likely to track the costs they actually face (notably health and housing), improving purchasing power for older Americans.
The bill clarifies which index applies to Social Security COLAs and preserves existing administrative treatments for other statutes, reducing legal uncertainty for agencies that adjust benefits and payments tied to the COLA.
If the senior-specific CPI (CPI–E) rises faster than current CPI measures, taxpayers and federal budgets will face higher long-term outlays for Social Security and other COLA-linked programs.
Some programs that remain indexed to the prior COLA treatment (outside Titles II, VIII, XVI) could experience mismatched adjustments or added administrative complexity, producing uneven benefit changes across programs and extra work for state/local governments.
Relying on a new BLS series and using a research index until official publication could create temporary confusion or disputes over which index applies to particular COLA quarters, causing beneficiary uncertainty and administrative disputes at the SSA.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs BLS to publish a CPI–E and updates Social Security COLA statute so future COLAs can use an elderly-specific CPI (effective for quarters ending Sept 30, 2026 or later).
Official title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers for purposes of determining cost-of-living adjustments under titles II, VIII, and XVI of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced October 28, 2025 by Nikki Budzinski · Last progress October 28, 2025
Revises how Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are calculated by directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to produce a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI–E) that reflects spending patterns of people aged 62 and over, and by updating statutory references so future COLAs can use that index (or CPI–W where allowed). The changes apply to COLA computation quarters ending on or after September 30, 2026, and include a provision preserving other laws that rely on the preexisting COLA calculation for their own adjustments.