Social Security COLA 2026: 2.8% Raise and What Changed

The 2026 COLA in one table

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is 2.8 percent. SSA announced it on October 24, 2025, stating that benefits “for 75 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2026” (SSA press release). The COLA raised every Social Security and SSI check, and it also moved a long list of other numbers that change each January. All of the figures below come from the SSA 2026 fact sheet.

When the increase started

The COLA applies to “benefits payable in January 2026,” which is the December 2025 benefit paid in January. Because Social Security pays a month behind, your first larger Social Security payment was the one that arrived in January 2026.

SSI is different. The SSA fact sheet says: “Increased SSI payments will begin with the December 31, 2025 payment.” That happened because January 1 is a federal holiday, so the January SSI payment is always paid on the last business day of December. The same thing will happen this December: the January 2027 SSI payment, at the new 2027 rate, will be paid Thursday, December 31, 2026. See the November 2026 payment schedule for that pattern.

How the COLA is calculated

SSA does not pick the number. It is set by a formula in the Social Security Act. The SSA COLA page describes it: the COLA “is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was determined to the third quarter of the current year.”

In plain terms, SSA averages the CPI-W for July, August and September, compares that average with the same three months a year earlier, and the percentage difference (rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent) becomes the COLA. If prices did not rise, there is no COLA, but benefits are never cut.

What this means for you

The 2.8 percent figure is the same for everyone, but the dollar amount depends on your benefit. Here are three examples using SSA’s own averages (2026 fact sheet).

Example 1: Average retired worker. SSA’s estimated average benefit went from $2,015 to $2,071. That is $56 more per month, or $672 more per year.

Example 2: Retired couple, both receiving benefits. The estimated average for an aged couple rose from $3,120 to $3,208, an increase of $88 a month or $1,056 a year.

Example 3: Widow living alone. The average aged widow’s benefit went from $1,867 to $1,919, up $52 a month or $624 a year.

Now subtract Medicare. The standard Part B premium rose from $185.00 to $202.90 in 2026, an increase of $17.90 (CMS fact sheet). For the average retired worker, that takes $17.90 of the $56 raise, leaving a net increase of about $38 a month. For the widow in Example 3, the net gain is about $34. Read the Part B premium and IRMAA article for how the premium is deducted.

SSI rates for 2026

The SSI federal payment standard rose to $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 a month for a couple. The resource limits did not change: $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. The student earned-income exclusion for 2026 is $2,410 a month, up to $9,730 a year (SSA fact sheet).

Some states add a supplement on top of the federal amount, so your actual SSI payment can be higher than these figures.

The earnings test: working while collecting

If you collect Social Security before your full retirement age and keep working, SSA withholds part of your benefit once your wages pass a limit. The limits rise with the COLA:

Withheld benefits are not lost. When you reach full retirement age, SSA recalculates your benefit to give credit for the months it withheld. The working while collecting article walks through examples, and the earnings test calculator estimates your own withholding.

The taxable wage base and payroll tax

Workers pay Social Security tax only on earnings up to the taxable maximum. For 2026 that is $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025. Earnings above that amount are not taxed for Social Security and do not count toward your benefit. The Medicare tax has no cap.

The tax rates did not change: 7.65 percent for employees (Social Security plus Medicare) and 15.30 percent for the self-employed (SSA fact sheet). A worker earning $184,500 or more in 2026 pays $8,400 more in wages subject to Social Security tax than in 2025, because of the higher cap.

To earn one credit toward Social Security in 2026, you need $1,890 in covered earnings, up from $1,810. Four credits a year is the maximum, so $7,560 in earnings during 2026 earns the full four.

Maximum benefits in 2026

The most a worker retiring at full retirement age in 2026 can receive is $4,152 a month, up from $4,018. The amount depends heavily on the age you claim. SSA’s actuaries publish figures for a worker with maximum-taxable earnings since age 22 who retires in January 2026 (SSA OACT table):

Why does the age-67 row ($4,207) differ from the fact sheet’s full-retirement-age figure ($4,152)? A worker reaching full retirement age in January 2026 was born in 1959 and has a full retirement age of 66 and 10 months, not 67. The two figures are for slightly different people.

Full retirement age by birth year

If you were born on January 1, use the previous year (SSA retirement age page).

Other 2026 amounts that changed

• Substantial gainful activity (the earnings level that affects disability benefits): $1,690 a month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 for blind individuals.
• Trial work period month: $1,210 in earnings.

Both are from the SSA fact sheet.

How and when the 2027 COLA will be announced

As of the date of this article, SSA has not announced the 2027 COLA. Its press release index shows no 2027 COLA release, and its COLA page still shows 2.8 percent for 2026.

The announcement depends on one event: the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of the September 2026 Consumer Price Index. That release completes the third-quarter CPI-W average. SSA announces the COLA the same morning. Precedent:

• 2026 COLA: announced Friday, October 24, 2025 (press release).
• 2025 COLA: announced Thursday, October 10, 2024 (press release).

So the 2027 COLA announcement is expected in October 2026. SSA does not state the exact date in advance.

What to do once it is announced

1. Check your new amount in December. SSA mails COLA notices in December and posts them in your my Social Security account, usually earlier than the mailed letter.
2. Look for the Medicare Part B premium in the same notice. CMS usually releases the 2027 Part B premium between late October and mid-November. Your net increase is the COLA minus any premium increase.
3. Update your budget for January. The first Social Security payment with the 2027 COLA is the January 2027 payment (January 13, 20 or 27 for the Wednesday groups). SSI recipients see it on December 31, 2026. The 2027 payment schedule lists every date.
4. Re-check the earnings limit if you work. The earnings-test limits rise with the COLA. If you are under full retirement age and earning near $24,480, the 2027 limit will be higher.

We will update this article and every data page on this site the day SSA publishes the 2027 figures.

This article is for general information only and is not financial, tax, legal or insurance advice. Found an error? See our corrections policy.