Social Security will not be able to fully pay monthly benefits to tens of millions of retirees and people with disabilities in 2034 if lawmakers don’t act to address the program’s pending shortfall, according to an annual report released Wednesday by Social Security’s trustees.

The cost-of-living adjustment, commonly referred to as COLA, has been a long-standing element of Social Security benefits, being put it in place in 1975. The adjustment is designed to keep payments in line with inflation so that the purchasing power of benefits is not eroded over time.