2026 Social Security Cola: Payments to increase 2.8%
Social security beneficiaries are getting a 2.8% increase in their monthly payments for 2026, the social security administration announced on Friday after a nine-day delay due to the government shutdown.
The annual cost adjustment, or Cola, is designed to help Social Security recipients keep up with rising rates. Cola News 2026 means that more than 72 million Americans who receive benefits will take $56 more per month, on average, according to the announcement.
“Social security is a promise kept, and the adjustment of the annual costs is another way we work to make sure that the benefits reflect the private parts of today and continue to provide the basis of security,” said the Administrative Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Frank Bisignano.
About 60 million Americans receive these retirement benefits, and 8 million beneficiaries receive disability insurance. About 7 million Americans receive Social Security, or SSI, which is intended to help adults and children without wages and services who are blind, disabled, or age 65 and older. (Some people get both SSI and Social Security.) The 2.8% increase applies to all of these programs.
The 2026 cola is much larger than the 2.5% adjustment in 2025. That’s good news. However, inflation is on the rise again, and activist groups say the Government’s method of calculating colas has not fully captured real prices, leading to a loss of purchasing power over time.
Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 Social Security Cola:
How much are social security benefits growing in 2026?
The average social security retirement payment will increase by $56 on December 31, according to a paper published on Friday. That would bring the average monthly pay for retired workers to $2,071 in January.
For comparison, the average social security retirement income increased by $49 by 2025.
When will 2026 Cola happen?
The cola of 2026 will appear in the payment after and after payment 31 (when the SSI payment in January is scheduled to be distributed).
The complete 2026 social security payment schedule can be found on the social security administration website.
How is social security cola calculated?
Annual profit adjustments are based on inflation data from the third quarter, scanning July, August and September. Cola’s calculations use the city’s wage-earning consumer price index and CPI-W.
The math is simple. The CPI-W was 316.349 in July, 317.306 in August and 318.139 in September. The average for those months (317.265) compares to the average for the third quarter of the year of (308.729). That difference, 8.536 (or 2.8%), is cola.
Why was the cola announcement delayed?
Due to the government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics was forced to cancel the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which is the last part of the cola calculation.
Earlier this month, the Bureau brought back some employees to work on the CPI again so Social Security administration “could” meet the payment dates needed to ensure accurate and timely reporting. The report came out on Friday morning, so beneficiaries are now getting clarity on their 2026 goals.
How does 2026 cola compare to previous colas?
Ten years ago, regular cola was around 3.1%, but in the last 20 years, it’s been around 2.6%.
The advocacy groups say beneficiaries haven’t received enough cost-benefit increases in recent years, and some blame the CPI-based formula. Instead, groups like the Senior Citizens League say benefits should be changed based on a different index of inflation, the CPI-E. That test index is designed to accurately track the rising costs of things older people spend their money on.
That’s one of many social security reforms that have been proposed — but never implemented — in recent years.
This is one recent policy change: In July, Congress created a new, temporary tax cut of $6,000
The Trump administration has tried to argue that this provision means that the President was brought “without tax on social security”. However, while the measure lowers America’s tax bill, it doesn’t completely eliminate the tax on Social Security — far from it, experts say.
Another potential problem: this year, the timing of the cola announcement may be less than the eligibility of the beneficiaries. Third quarter quarterly data determined that cola only absorbed the initial impact of rising taxes. US trade policy is expanding rapidly, and if inflation pulls back this winter, social workers may finally feel that credit is enough.
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