Your personal data may be at risk: A former DOGE engineer allegedly took two highly restricted Social Security databases on a thumb drive containing records for over 500 million living and dead Americans — including Social Security numbers, birth dates, citizenship, race, ethnicity, and parents' names.

Planned to share with private employer: The engineer allegedly told colleagues he wanted to "sanitize" the data and upload it to his new company's systems after leaving government work, and claimed he expected a presidential pardon if his actions were illegal — the Social Security Inspector General is now investigating.

Part of broader DOGE data breach concerns: This follows separate complaints that DOGE members improperly uploaded Social Security data to digital clouds and shared data through unapproved third-party services — the worst-case scenario is "there could be one or a million copies of it, and we will never know now," according to the former chief data officer.

March 11th and 18th are key dates: On March 11th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases February's Consumer Price Index numbers showing inflation trends — on March 18th, the Federal Reserve meets to decide interest rates, signaling whether they believe inflation is rising or under control.

Early insight into 2027 COLA: While the official 2027 COLA won't be announced until October (calculated using third-quarter 2026 CPI-W data), these March dates give you early clues about which way the economy and inflation are trending for next year's adjustment.

Why inflation data matters: Your COLA is directly based on inflation — when the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) shows year-over-year cost increases, beneficiaries receive a check increase equal to that percentage jump, making inflation tracking critical for projecting future benefits.

The outdated threshold hits hard: Once your combined income (AGI + nontaxable interest + half your Social Security) exceeds $44,000 for married couples filing jointly, up to 85% of your Social Security becomes taxable — this threshold hasn't been adjusted since 1983, so inflation has eroded protection that once helped middle-income retirees.

Example: $38,400 in benefits triggers the trap: A couple each collecting Social Security ($1,800 and $1,400 monthly = $38,400 annually) plus modest $20,000 retirement withdrawals lands well above the $44,000 threshold — most of their Social Security check becomes federally taxable, creating an unexpected tax bill of thousands per year.

The solution: Roth conversions and strategic timing: Convert traditional IRA balances to Roth accounts before both spouses claim Social Security since Roth distributions don't count in the combined income formula — and never claim both benefits simultaneously without modeling the tax impact first, as the gap between planned and unplanned approaches can cost several thousand dollars annually.