Half of all seniors are considering returning to work as Social Security payments fail to provide enough, a new survey has found.
A poll conducted among 2,000 American retirees by The Motley Fool on October 11 found that 50 percent are considering giving up retirement to make more money. The survey comes after the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on October 10 there would be a 2.5 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for benefits issued in 2025—the lowest increase in several years.
Social Security benefits are issued to retirees, people with disabilities and survivors of deceased claimants, with tens of millions receiving benefits every year. Amounts are adjusted annually according to the COLA, which is calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) in the third quarter of the current year and the average in the same period of the previous year. If any increase occurs, that percentage is rounded to the nearest 10th of 1 percent, and becomes the annual COLA.
The poll also found that 54 percent of retirees think this latest COLA is insufficient. In more recent years, driven by high inflation, the annual boost has been more significant—benefits issued in 2023 were increased by 8.7 percent on the previous year, and 3.2 percent in 2024. Among respondents who said the 2025 COLA is somewhat or completely insufficient, at least half are considering going back to work.
“The average monthly Social Security payment in 2024 after the 3.2 percent COLA is $1,907,” Jack Caporal, The Motley Fool’s research lead, said. “That does not cover even half of what Americans age 65 and older spent per month in 2023: $5,007. Considering only 54 percent of American households had a retirement account in 2022, it’s not surprising that a significant percentage of retirees surveyed feel as though they need another source of income.”
Although Social Security is not designed to cover all of a retirees expenses, a sizable chunk of American seniors are completely financially reliant on their benefits. The Motley Fool found 28 percent rely exclusively on their benefits to get by, while 32 percent rely heavily on their payments—totaling more than half, 60 percent.
“Retirees may want to return to work for a variety of reasons: for a sense of purpose, to provide daily structure, to support a charity or other cause, and more,” Caporal said. “But the survey results suggest that financial stability and maintaining their current lifestyle are driving factors for retirees thinking about finding a new job.”
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Other research also points to American seniors not being helped by the annual COLA. The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan group that works in the interests of senior citizens, found earlier this year that 2024’s average Social Security payments are worth only about 80 cents on the dollar compared to 2010, 14 years ago.
The group is advocates for a change to the COLA calculation, instead basing it on the CPI-E, which monitors the spending of Americans 62 years of age and older.
“This year represents another lost opportunity to grant seniors the financial relief they deserve by changing the COLA calculation from the CPI-W to the CPI-E, which would better reflect seniors’ changing expenses,” Shannon Benton, executive director of TSCL, said in a statement to Newsweek.
“Seniors—and TSCL—demand that Congress takes immediate action to strengthen COLAs to ensure Americans can retire with dignity, such as instituting a minimum COLA of 3 percent and changing the COLA calculation from the CPI-W to the CPI-E. Our research shows that 67 percent of seniors depend on Social Security for more than half their income and that 62 percent worry their retirement income won’t even cover essentials like groceries and medical bills.”
Are you a senior and/or disabled person struggling to get by on Social Security benefits? Do you think the COLA calculation should be changed? Email [email protected].
