Key takeaways
- The 2027 COLA is 3.6%, which raises the average retired worker’s check from $2,095 to $2,170.
- Social Security’s trustees project that the retirement and survivors trust fund will run out of reserves in 2032.
- At the 2026 standard Part B premium of about $203, her $2,170 benefit would leave a deposit of about $1,967, assuming she pays the standard premium.
She checks her IRA balance obsessively and dreads outliving it, yet one overlooked number could change how her next 30 years look. Before she panics and drains her savings, she should know which costs quietly shrink that number first.
