More than 75 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive a 3.6% boost to their monthly payments starting in January.

The Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living increase Wednesday morning shortly after the Labor Department reported that inflation rose 3.7% from a year ago. This year’s Social Security payment increase, the largest in four years, is due in large part to the surge in energy prices as a result of the war with Iran. The SSA said the average benefit would increase by $75 a month.

Additionally, the maximum taxable earnings for Social Security will rise next year from $184,500 to $192,300. Self-employed people will owe 15.3%, while employees will pay 7.65% of their paycheck.

As for the increase in monthly payments for Social Security beneficiaries, many say it won’t be enough. A survey this week from AARP found 76% of adults over 50 years old said a 3.5% increase would not keep up with rising prices. Seven in 10 said the increase needs to be between 5% and 8% to be sufficient.

Out there, waiting for the president and Congress to address, is Social Security’s trust fund, expected to be insolvent by 2032, which could lead to a 22% cut in benefits. That would wipe out nine years of annual cost-of-living increases, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Social Security is the nation’s largest antipoverty program, according to the Census Bureau. The poverty rate for seniors last year was 15.4%, higher than the national rate. Rising health costs along with a lack of savings are largely responsible.

The agency’s commissioner, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement that the adjustment would give recipients “greater financial stability.”

Senior advocacy groups say the cost of living is a strong reminder of the financial straits of many older people.

“There’s a lot on the line financially right now for older Americans — one in five have no retirement savings, and more people feel financially insecure this year than last. That makes Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment critically important,” AARP chief executive Myechia Minter-Jordan told The Associated Press.

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