Not even a first-of-the-century cost-of-living adjustment milestone will be enough to prop up retired-worker beneficiaries.

For a majority of the 53 million retired workers who brought home a Social Security check in June, their payout is indispensable. Though the average monthly retired-worker benefit is a fairly modest $2,005 , nearly a quarter century of annual surveys from Gallup show that 80% to 90% of retirees lean on this payout, to some degree, to cover their expenses.

For these retirees, nothing is of greater importance than knowing how much they'll be receiving on a monthly basis. This is why October's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) reveal by the Social Security Administration (SSA) is such an anticipated event.

While there's a realistic chance that Social Securit

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