if the cola is 5.9% you can bet the inflation rate is much higher
Inflation is at 8% right now. The inflation we feel in real costs and lost income was at 6% on 1 October 2021. Hence the 5.9% increase. I am not an Economist, but these were the numbers I recall from an article I read on the pending increase. For our household the real value of the increase lay not in the monthly check but the increase in allowable income earned before Social Security is taxed.
I continue to check Shadow Stats website for the “true” rate of inflation.