Two major forecasts jump sharply in one month: Senior Citizens League now predicts 3.9% COLA (up from 2.8% last month), while independent analyst Mary Johnson forecasts 4.2% (up from 3.2%) — average retired worker's benefit would increase $81.17, from $2,081.16 to $2,162.33 monthly.

Driven by energy spike and food inflation: CPI-W rose 3.9% over last 12 months as energy index increased 3.8% in April after skyrocketing 10.9% in March (largest increase since February 2005) — gas prices now over $4.50/gallon, heating oil up 54.3%, tomatoes up 39.7%, coffee up 18.5%, fresh vegetables up 11.5%.

Costs that matter most to seniors rising faster than rest of economy: "For retirees living on fixed incomes, the costs that matter most, especially healthcare, housing, utilities, and insurance, continue to rise faster than prices in the rest of the economy, silently wrenching seniors dry," says TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton — most retirees say rising costs have "eaten up any gains they've received."

90% of hearings now fully virtual, making specialized centers obsolete: SSA opened National Hearing Centers in 2007 for remote video appeals, but now over 90% of administrative law judge hearings are conducted digitally (phone or online video) with claimants joining from home, attorney's office, or local hearing office — closure won't result in layoffs, and employees will transition to the agency's 158 hearing offices.

No service disruptions — local hearing offices still provide in-person, phone, and video options: The 5 National Hearing Centers being closed are not open to the public and only serve as locations for judges — your local hearing office remains open for in-person services, and "there will be no impact to service, and no hearings will be changed or lost," according to SSA spokesperson.

Separate IG report: SSA spent $4.6M to recover $2.6M in overpayments: Inspector General found the agency spent nearly $15,000 attempting to recover about $8,000 in low-dollar overpayments from 50 recipients — extrapolating this sample, SSA spent $2 million more on collection activities than it actually recovered, prompting auditors to say "SSA should not pursue recovery of overpayments when it is not cost beneficial."

Redesigned Retirement Calculator with visual bar graph: The updated calculator now includes a colorful bar graph that lets you compare up to three benefit estimates at a time — making it easier to visualize how claiming at 62 vs. 67 vs. 70 would affect your monthly payments and lifetime benefits.

Improved Claim Status Tracker puts key info upfront: Instead of digging through details, you can now "quickly see your claim status and any actions you need to take" — the most important information displays immediately when you check on your retirement or disability application.

Over 100 million accounts already created: Through your personal my Social Security account, you can get personalized retirement estimates, check spouse benefits, set up direct deposit, print benefit verification letters, change your address, and more — all without calling or visiting an office, and the new design matches SSA.gov for a unified experience.