Social Security COLA for 2027 is 3.6%: $75 on the average benefit
SSA set the 2027 COLA at 3.6% on October 14, 2026: a CPI-W average of 328.746 against 317.265. The arithmetic, and what changes in January 2027.
- What happened
- On October 14, 2026, the Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for benefits paid from January 2027. The figure follows directly from the September 2026 CPI-W (330.654), released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics the same morning.
- Why
- The law fixes the COLA as the percentage rise in the average CPI-W for July–September 2026 over the same average for July–September 2025, rounded to a tenth of a percent: 328.746 against 317.265 is 3.6%.
- The numbers that matter
- 3.6%COLA, benefits payable for December 2026, paid January 2027328.746Average CPI-W, July–September 2026$2,170Estimated average retired-worker benefit after the COLA, January 2027$192,3002027 taxable maximum, up from $184,500
- Why it matters
- A $2,095 monthly retirement benefit becomes $2,170; the first increased Social Security payment arrives in January 2027, and the 2027 Medicare Part B premium that is deducted from it is not posted until late November 2026.
- What happens nextas we saw it on 16 Oct 2026
- SSA says the 2027 Part B premium amount and online COLA notices appear in my Social Security accounts in late November 2026; the next CPI release (October 2026 data) is on November 10, 2026, and the 2028 COLA is determined in October 2027.
The 3.6% adjustment paid from January 2027 is the largest of the four most recent COLAs.
| Dec 2026 (paid Jan 2027) | 3.6% |
|---|---|
| Dec 2025 (paid Jan 2026) | 2.8% |
| Dec 2024 (paid Jan 2025) | 2.5% |
| Dec 2023 (paid Jan 2024) | 3.2% |
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is 3.6%. The Social Security Administration announced it on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, within hours of the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishing the September 2026 Consumer Price Index. It is the largest of the four most recent adjustments and applies to benefits payable for December 2026, paid in January 2027.
None of it was a matter of judgment. The COLA is a formula in the Social Security Act, and every input is now public. Here is the arithmetic, then the other 2027 figures published with it.
The formula, and the three months that decide it
SSA's Office of the Chief Actuary states the rule: the adjustment equals the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the average for the third quarter of the most recent year in which a COLA took effect to the average for the third quarter of the current year, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. If there is no increase, or the rounded increase is zero, there is no COLA. The base year is 2025, because a 2.8% COLA took effect with December 2025 benefits.
The CPI-W is a narrower cousin of the headline CPI-U. It weights the same price quotes by the spending of households where at least half of income comes from clerical or hourly-wage jobs. In the 12 months to September 2026 the CPI-U rose 3.7% and the CPI-W 3.9%, both before seasonal adjustment.
| Month | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| July | 316.349 | 327.104 |
| August | 317.306 | 328.481 |
| September | 318.139 | 330.654 |
| Third-quarter total | 951.794 | 986.239 |
| Third-quarter average | 317.265 | 328.746 |
2025 third quarter: 316.349 + 317.306 + 318.139 = 951.794; divided by three = 317.265. 2026 third quarter: 327.104 + 328.481 + 330.654 = 986.239; divided by three = 328.746. The difference is 328.746 − 317.265 = 11.481 index points. 11.481 ÷ 317.265 = 0.03619, or 3.62%, which the statute rounds to 3.6%. The July and August 2026 readings also appear on the FRED mirror of the BLS series; the September reading of 330.654 is in the BLS release of October 14, 2026.
Two things follow. Only three months count: the CPI-W rose 3.9% in the year to September 2026, but the COLA is 3.6%, because the base is the whole of July–September 2025, not September alone. And rounding to a tenth means the unrounded 3.62% became 3.6%, slightly less than the exact index change.
What the adjustment does to a monthly payment
SSA's fact sheet for 2027 publishes estimated average benefits for January 2027 before and after the 3.6% adjustment. These are category averages, not any one person's payment, which depends on their own earnings record.
| Category | Before COLA | After COLA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All retired workers | $2,095 | $2,170 | $75 |
| Aged couple, both receiving benefits | $3,238 | $3,355 | $117 |
| Widowed mother and two children | $3,932 | $4,074 | $142 |
| Aged widow(er) alone | $1,936 | $2,005 | $69 |
| Disabled worker, spouse and one or more children | $2,970 | $3,077 | $107 |
| All disabled workers | $1,642 | $1,701 | $59 |
$2,095 × 0.036 = $75.42 a month. SSA's press release of October 14, 2026 puts the average retirement increase at $75 a month, and its fact sheet rounds the after-COLA average to $2,170. Over 12 months, $75.42 × 12 = $905.04.
SSA's release of October 14, 2026 says nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries receive the 3.6% adjustment beginning January 2027, and “about 7.3 million” Supplemental Security Income recipients see increased payments beginning December 31, 2026. The SSI federal payment standard rises from $994 to $1,029 a month for an individual and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple.
The other 2027 numbers published with it
Two other figures that change every January are indexed to wages, not prices, so they move by a different percentage. The site's wage-base explainer sets out that indexing; here are the 2027 results.
$192,300 − $184,500 = $7,800 of additional wages subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax in 2027. $7,800 ÷ $184,500 = 0.0423, or 4.2%. For an employee earning at or above the new cap, the extra tax is $7,800 × 0.062 = $483.60; the employer pays the same again, and a self-employed worker pays both halves, $7,800 × 0.124 = $967.20. Medicare's 1.45% tax has no wage cap, so nothing changes there.
SSA's fact sheet lists $25,560 ($2,130 a month) for people below full retirement age throughout 2027, $1 withheld for every $2 above it, and $67,920 ($5,660 a month) for the year of reaching full retirement age, $1 per $3, counting only months before that age. From the month full retirement age is attained there is no limit.
Also in the fact sheet: a quarter of coverage requires $1,970 of earnings in 2027 (from $1,890); the substantial gainful activity amount is $1,770 a month for non-blind recipients (from $1,690); the employee tax rate is unchanged at 7.65%.
When it arrives, and what is deducted first
SSA's actuarial page states that Social Security benefits increase 3.6% beginning with December 2026 benefits, payable in January 2027, and SSI federal payment levels increase 3.6% for payments made for January 2027, paid at the end of December because January 1 is a holiday.
The figure most readers see is the net deposit: the COLA minus the Medicare Part B premium. SSA's release says the 2027 premium amount is posted in late November 2026, so nobody can yet compute their January net. The mechanics of that deduction are in the site's Part B piece; its follow-up on the 2026 COLA tracked how the prior adjustment compared with the prices that followed.
What it means for your money
The COLA is backward-looking by construction. It restores purchasing power lost between the third quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2026; it says nothing about prices from October 2026 onwards, and the inflation rate over the 12 months in which it is paid does not exist yet.
In the 12 months to September 2026 the CPI-W rose 3.9% and the CPI-U 3.7%, yet the quarter-average formula delivered 3.6%, below both. A retiree whose spending is weighted to shelter and medical care may experience a different rate again. The nominal-versus-real distinction is the whole point: the dollar figure rises 3.6%, and whether that buys more or less depends on prices still to be published.
- Gross benefit: multiply your December 2026 gross benefit by 1.036 and round to the nearest dollar.
- Net deposit: subtract the 2027 Part B premium, posted in late November 2026 per SSA, and any tax withholding.
- Still working below full retirement age: earnings above $25,560 in 2027 reduce benefits by $1 for every $2; above full retirement age there is no reduction.
- High earners: the first $192,300 of 2027 wages carries the 6.2% Social Security tax, up to $483.60 more than in 2026 for an employee.
- Planning: the freedom-number calculator takes an expected Social Security benefit as an input.
Sources
- Social Security Announces 3.6 Percent Benefit Increase for 2027 (press release, October 14, 2026)Social Security Administration · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact SheetSocial Security Administration · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA formula and third-quarter CPI-W computation)Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA series by year)Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Contribution and Benefit BaseSocial Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings TestSocial Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2027Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Consumer Price Index Summary — September 2026 (news release, published October 14, 2026)Bureau of Labor Statistics · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: All Items in U.S. City Average (CWUR0000SA0), BLS data via FREDBureau of Labor Statistics via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis · Oct 16, 2026 · Primary source
- Schedule of release dates for principal economic indicatorsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2026 · Primary source
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