WASHINGTON — Millions who receive Social Security benefits are getting a raise next year. After a delay in the announcement, the Social Security Administration revealed the annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for beneficiaries for 2026 is 2.8%
The SSA says 75 million people are set to receive the boost, with 71 million receiving an increase to their Social Security benefits and seven million receiving a bump to their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. Some beneficiaries receive both types of payments.
“Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” said Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. “The cost-of-living adjustment is a vital part of how Social Security delivers on its mission.”
Beneficiaries will begin receiving notice letters about their specific benefit increases starting in December.
The increase comes in slightly larger than forecasted, and is a .3% increase over the 2025 COLA. Despite the increase, Shannon Benton, director of the non-partisan senior advocacy group The Senior Citizens League says it’s not enough and many seniors are falling behind.
On average, the 2026 COLA is expected to increase monthly payments by $56. TSCL says only 10 percent of seniors report being happy with their monthly payments, with many saying the yearly increases don’t keep up with inflation.
“The 2026 COLA is going to hurt for seniors. Year after year, they warn that Social Security’s meager increases won’t be enough, and the Census Bureau estimates that about 10 percent of retirement-age Americans live in poverty,” Benton said. “However, our research suggests that the number may be higher. It’s about time our elected representatives show up for seniors, or else seniors won’t show up for them at the voting booth.”
A study conducted by TSCL estimates that the median senior survives on less than $2,000 a month. The study also found that 73% of seniors count on Social Security to provide more than half of their monthly income.
Over the last decade, the Social Security Administration says the COLA has averaged 3.1%. However, that data is slightly inflated due to huge increases approved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2017, the COLA has been:
- January 2017 — 0.3%
- January 2018 — 2.0%
- January 2019 — 2.8%
- January 2020 — 1.6%
- January 2021 — 1.3%
- January 2022 — 5.9%
- January 2023 — 8.7%
- January 2024 — 3.2%
- January 2025 — 2.5%
- January 2026 — 2.8%
The yearly COLA is determined by the Social Security Administration. The agency determines the adjustment by using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners (CPI-W) for the months of July, August and September and comparing that to the same time period from the year prior. The CPI-W is calculated by analyzing the spending habits of Americans when it comes to items like food, consumer goods, housing, health care and more.
While that has been the standard formula, Benton says changes need to be made to require a minimum increase for benefits and how the formula is calculated.
“Seniors, and The Senior Citizens League, call on Congress to take immediate action to strengthen COLAs to ensure Americans can retire with dignity, such as instituting a minimum COLA of 3 percent and changing the COLA calculation from the CPI-W to the CPI-E (Consumer Price Index for the Elderly),” Benton said.
The CPI-E is a formula that specifically calculates spending habits of elderly people and would better reflect how seniors spend. TSCL says the CPI-E is usually higher that the CPI-W 69% of the time.
Friday’s announcement was delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown. Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics was shut down, it was unable to release the September 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI). Without that data, the CPI-W could not be calculated. However, BLS employees were ordered back to work to ensure the COLA could be determined.
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