The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is projecting Social Security’s 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) at 3.8% — unchanged from last month’s forecast and 1 percentage point higher than this year’s 2.8% adjustment. If that projection holds, the average monthly benefit would climb $73.62, from $1,937.53 to $2,011.15.
Meanwhile, Congress has reintroduced legislation that the advocacy group says could reshape the program for decades to come.
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Social Security 2100 Act returns to Congress
The Social Security 2100 Act is back on Capitol Hill, offering what supporters say is a sweeping package of long-term improvements for older Americans. The bill would raise benefits by 2%, lift the minimum benefit to 125% of the Federal poverty line, switch the COLA calculation to the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), and update the program’s benefits formula.
To keep the program solvent, the legislation would increase the Social Security payroll tax and extend it to cover income above $400,000 — moves TSCL says would shore up the program’s trust fund for an additional 32 years.
Bill addresses seniors’ top priorities
TSCL says its research has consistently found that large majorities of seniors want Congress to enact a general benefits increase and adopt an inflation index that more accurately reflects their day-to-day costs. It says the 2100 Act would do both.
Among the bill’s provisions, TSCL says the most impactful in the near term would be raising the minimum benefit to 125% of the Federal poverty line. In 2026, the Federal poverty line for a single-person household is $15,650 per year, or $1,304 per month. According to TSCL research, roughly 1 in 10 seniors — approximately 5.6 million people — currently survive on less than $1,000 per month.
TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton called the legislation the benchmark for what meaningful reform should look like.
“Although the Social Security 2100 Act is unlikely to pass in the current Congress, it should,” Benton said. “The bill is the gold standard for Social Security reform and accomplishes the majority of changes older Americans want to see for the program.”
Benton pointed to rising senior poverty as a driving urgency behind the push for reform.
“The reality is that poverty is increasing rapidly among American seniors, who make up the fastest-growing portion of the homeless population,” she said. “Adjusting the minimum benefit to above the Federal poverty line would almost certainly slow this trend, although more holistic efforts may be required to stop it entirely.”
Window of opportunity — and a gap in relief
Benton also pointed to a narrow legislative window that could make action more likely in the coming years.
“Right now, we have a golden opportunity to act,” she said. “The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report projects that the program’s trust fund will reach insolvency in Q4 2032, forcing an automatic benefits cut. Congress will almost certainly have to pass a bill to address the program’s finances in the next few years, which provides a perfect chance to simultaneously shore up benefits for the next 100 years and continue the program’s legacy.”
Still, TSCL says the bill falls short in one critical area: immediate relief. The organization has long advocated for a one-time $1,400 stimulus payment for all American seniors to offset years of eroding buying power — something the 2100 Act does not include.
A separate measure, the Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act, introduced this year, would address that gap more directly. That bill would increase benefits by $200 per month over six months, totaling $1,200.
Passage remains unlikely
Despite broad support from senior advocacy groups, the bill faces steep odds. The Social Security 2100 Act was first introduced in 2017, and the legislative tracking platform GovTrack gives the 2026 version a 0% chance of passing.