Does Social Security Have An Inflation Donut Hole?

With all the attention given to the latest Social Security COLA, we’ve been getting lots of questions. Among the questions is about the alleged "donut hole" for Social Security inflation adjustments for individuals 60 and 61 years of age.

Some in this cohort are upset that they may be missing out on significant benefits increases during this high inflation period. This is based on the observation that if all wages are indexed through age 59, and the COLAs don’t start until 62, there are two years of no inflation. Is this really how it works?