2027 Social Security COLA Is 3.6%: What Your New Check Looks Like, Plus the 2028 Outlook

The 2027 Social Security COLA is 3.6%, announced by the SSA on October 14, 2026. The average retired worker’s check rises about $75 a month, from $2,095 to roughly $2,170, starting with January 2027 payments.

It’s the biggest raise since 2023’s 8.7%, and it landed at the top of the 3.5% to 3.6% range forecasters had settled on. SSI recipients see it first, in the payment dated December 31, 2026.

2027 COLA: Confirmed at 3.6%

The 3.6% applies to about 76 million people: nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries and about 7.3 million SSI recipients (some get both). Retirement, survivor and disability benefits all rise by the same percentage.

Here’s what SSA estimates the raise looks like for common household types in January 2027:

Source: SSA’s 2027 COLA fact sheet.

Two quick examples of the gross raise before Medicare comes out:

Linda gets $1,850 a month in retirement benefits. At 3.6%, she gains about $67 a month, or roughly $800 over 2027.

Ray and Donna collect a combined $3,400. Their household raise is about $122 a month, close to $1,470 for the year.

If you want to see how the average compares where you live, my average Social Security check by state breakdown has every state side by side.

When the Raise Actually Shows Up

The COLA applies to December 2026 benefits, which are paid in January 2027. Your deposit day doesn’t change; it still follows your birth date or the 3rd-of-the-month rule.

• Late November 2026: your personal COLA notice posts in the my Social Security Message Center (you must create an account and opt into paperless notices by November 18 to see it online).
• December 2026: paper notices go out by mail for everyone else.
• December 31, 2026: SSI recipients get January’s higher payment early, because January 1 is a holiday.
• January 2027: the first Social Security deposits at the new amount. My Social Security payment schedule by birth date has the exact days.

SSA says the notice is now a one-page version with your exact new amount and any deductions. That’s the number to budget around, not a calculator estimate.

Medicare Part B: How Much of the Raise You Keep

Part B premiums come straight out of most Social Security checks, so the 2027 premium decides your net raise. CMS hasn’t announced it yet; it usually lands in mid-November.

The 2026 standard premium was $202.90. The latest Medicare Trustees Report projects $209.50 for 2027, and private forecasts run as high as about $220.

The “hold harmless” rule stops a Part B increase from shrinking anyone’s check below the prior year’s amount. With a $75 average raise, very few people will be close to that line in 2027. Higher earners also face IRMAA surcharges, covered in my 2027 IRMAA brackets guide.

I’ll update this section the day CMS releases the official 2027 premium. My guide to 2026 Medicare coverage changes and the 2027 outlook will get the same update.

Other 2027 Amounts That Moved With the COLA

The October announcement also resets several limits that readers ask me about every year. All of these take effect January 1, 2027, except SSI, which starts with the December 31 payment.

SSI. The federal maximum rises $35 for an individual and $53 for a couple. Many states add a supplement on top; my SSI maximum payment amounts guide covers how income and living arrangements reduce it.

Working while collecting. Under full retirement age all year, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $25,560. In the year you reach FRA, it’s $1 for every $3 above $67,920, counting only months before your birthday month.

Withheld months get credited back once you reach FRA. SSA’s earnings test page has the details.

Payroll tax. Workers pay the 6.2% Social Security tax on wages up to $192,300 in 2027, up from $184,500. If you earn above that, your take-home pay rises once you cross the cap later in the year.

What Will Drive the 2028 COLA

It’s far too early for a real 2028 number. The first credible estimates usually show up in January, once a few months of new inflation data are in.

The baseline resets with each COLA. The 2028 COLA will compare the average CPI-W for July, August and September 2027 against the third-quarter 2026 average that just produced the 3.6%. That means 2026’s higher prices become the new baseline.

Here’s what I’m watching:

• Energy prices. Fuel costs tied to the war in Iran pushed 2026’s CPI-W up. If they ease, the 2028 COLA likely comes in smaller.
• The Fed’s outlook. Its September projections had inflation cooling toward the low-2% range in 2027, which would point to a 2028 COLA closer to 2% to 3% than the 3.6% for 2027.
• Health and housing costs. These matter more to retirees than CPI-W captures, which is why some groups push for the CPI-E index instead.
• Trust fund politics. The 2027 Trustees Report, due in spring, will update the 2032 depletion date and could restart the debate over fixes.

Key dates: monthly CPI releases through 2027, the Trustees Report in the spring, and the official 2028 COLA announcement in mid-October 2027. I’ll start posting 2028 estimates on this page once the first trackers publish them.

2026 COLA: 2.8%, Now in the Rearview

The 2026 COLA was 2.8%, paid starting January 2026, up from 2.5% in 2025. It lifted the average retired worker’s check by about $56 a month, and most of 2026’s Part B increase (from $185 to $202.90) came out of that.

The 2027 raise is about 30% larger in percentage terms. For someone who got $2,000 a month in 2025, the two years together add up to roughly $130 more a month by January 2027.

The 2032 Trust Fund Deadline

Social Security’s retirement trust fund is projected to run dry in late 2032. If Congress does nothing, incoming payroll taxes would cover only about 78% of scheduled benefits.

On a $2,170 average check, a 22% across-the-board cut would mean roughly $475 less a month. That’s the mechanical math, not a forecast.

Congress has never let a cut like that happen. In 1983, lawmakers passed a fix that included slowly raising the full retirement age to 67.

The options now are similar, and each gets more painful the longer Congress waits. If you’re weighing when to start benefits, my guide on when to claim Social Security walks through the break-even math.

How the COLA Is Calculated

The COLA is 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 set to the third quarter of the current year. If prices fall, there’s no COLA, but benefits never go down.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPI-W monthly. SSA announces the result the same day September’s data comes out, usually mid-October.

The catch: CPI-W tracks urban workers’ spending, not retirees’. Older Americans spend more of their budget on health care and housing, and the experimental CPI-E index has historically run a bit higher. By law, SSA has to use CPI-W.

COLA History: Where 3.6% Ranks

Where People Get Tripped Up on COLA Day

I get the same handful of questions every October. These are the ones worth knowing before your notice arrives.

Your notice won’t match your own math. SSA applies the COLA to your Primary Insurance Amount and rounds down to the dime. Then it subtracts Part B and rounds down to the whole dollar. Spousal and dual benefits get rounded separately, so expect to be off by a dollar or so.

SSI’s “extra” December payment isn’t a bonus. The December 31 deposit is January’s payment arriving early. There’s no SSI payment in January 2027, so budget for that.

The COLA can bump you over other limits. A bigger check can push you closer to SNAP or Extra Help income limits, or make more of your benefit taxable. Seniors often still qualify for SNAP thanks to the medical-expense deduction; my grocery benefits for seniors guide works through the math.

Scammers love COLA season. Calls and texts asking you to “confirm” information so your raise goes through are fake. The COLA is automatic. See how the fake Social Security call transfer scam works, and only check your amount by going directly to ssa.gov/myaccount.

Federal retirees under FERS don’t get the full 3.6%. Because the COLA is above 3%, FERS annuities rise 2.6% (one point less), while CSRS and Social Security get 3.6%. Most military retirees and VA disability recipients get the full 3.6%; my VA disability compensation rates page has the new table.