For hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians, the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has a real impact on their monthly budgets. It helps pay for groceries, utilities, prescriptions, and other necessities. But when prices continue to rise, even a welcome increase can disappear quickly.

The 3.6% adjustment announced in October will provide essential help to older Americans working to make ends meet. AARP fought for the creation of the automatic COLA in 1972 because older Americans needed protection from rising prices. Before then, Social Security increases required an act of Congress, leaving too many people vulnerable to inflation.

Let’s be clear: The Social Security COLA provides essential relief, but many older Americans still find that their benefits do not keep pace with the costs they face.

Across Washington, people see that pressure every day. Grocery prices remain high, utility bills consume a larger share of monthly budgets, and healthcare and prescription drug costs continue to strain household finances. For people living on fixed incomes, even a modest increase can force difficult choices.

That pressure is especially serious because Social Security is the foundation of retirement security for more than 1.5 million people in Washington. They contributed throughout their working lives, and they count on the benefits they earned.

A recent AARP survey underscores what is at stake. Half of Social Security recipients say the program is their main source of income, and most Americans age 50 and older say a 3.6% COLA in 2027 would not keep pace with rising prices. Even with an adjustment, too many older Americans feel they are falling behind.

Yet special interest groups continue to push ideas that would calculate the COLA differently and reduce future benefit increases. Those proposals are out of touch with the reality facing communities across our state. Older Americans across the political spectrum expect Congress to preserve this vital protection against rising costs.

Every additional dollar matters when families are paying more for basic necessities. Congress should reject proposals that would weaken the COLA and work on a bipartisan plan to strengthen Social Security’s long-term finances without cutting earned benefits. AARP will continue fighting for today’s retirees and for the generations still contributing with every paycheck.

Marguerite Ro is the AARP Washington state director.