Social Security benefits will arguably lose buying power next year because the 2.5% COLA understates inflation.

The House is expected to try to pass a Social Security-related bill this week to ensure benefits for workers who are also eligible for other pensions, despite a surprise move by hard-right Freedom Caucus leaders to derail the effort.

A good rule of thumb to figure out your retirement savings needs is to come up with an annual income you expect to need, subtract your annual Social Security benefit, and then multiply the remaining number by 25.

Once those trust funds are emptied, Social Security may have no choice but to cut benefits universally. The most recent Social Security Trustees Report puts the timing of those benefit cuts at 2035, which is when the program's combined trust funds are expected to be depleted.

Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves' bill would eliminate the Social Security penalty for 2.8 million government retirees, including 90,000 in Louisiana.

The annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is one of the most important features of the government program. Without those annual raises, seniors would quickly find the purchasing power of their monthly annuity checks failing to meet their needs. That might feel like the case for some even with the COLA.