Social Security Benefits to Rise 2.8 Percent in 2026, Boosting Payments for 75 Million Americans

Social Security benefits will increase by 2.8 percent in 2026, federal officials have announced, with the inflation-related adjustment boosting payments for an estimated 75 million Americans.

The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Oct. 24, the same day that government data on inflation were released. It affects both Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments, ensuring that payments to retirees, people with disabilities, and low-income beneficiaries reflect rising costs.

On average, Social Security retirement benefits will rise by about $56 per month starting in January 2026, the SSA stated. Nearly 71 million Social Security beneficiaries will see the higher payments beginning in January, while about 7.5 million Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive their increase on Dec. 31, 2025.

“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,” SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement.

“The cost-of-living adjustment is a vital part of how Social Security delivers on its mission.”

Over the past decade, COLA increases have averaged about 3.1 percent, while the 2025 adjustment was 2.5 percent. The new figure is slightly higher than the 2.7 percent that had been forecast by The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group that issues monthly COLA projections.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which normally releases inflation figures monthly, stated earlier in October that it would publish September’s consumer price index (CPI) data on Oct. 24 so that the SSA could “meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits.” The release came amid a partial government shutdown that has suspended most federal data reporting, although officials said Social Security payments will continue uninterrupted.

The 2026 COLA is tied to the CPI-W—the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers—covering inflation for July, August, and September. Government data released on Oct. 24 showed that CPI-W rose by 2.9 percent over the 12 months through September, forming the basis for the 2.8 percent benefit increase.

Advocates for senior Americans have said the annual boost still falls short because it is tied to an index for working households, not retirees. They argue that switching from the CPI-W to the CPI-E, a separate inflation gauge designed to track spending by Americans aged 62 and older, would better capture seniors’ real costs, especially for health care and housing.

“Continuing to calculate COLAs with the CPI-W when the CPI-E is already available is a great example of how Congress refuses to make even small changes that would benefit seniors,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League. “It’s not as if switching to the CPI-E would involve setting up some new metric. It already exists, and by definition, it’s better for American seniors.”

In addition to the COLA increase, other adjustments will take effect in January 2026, including an increase in the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security taxes—from $176,100 to $184,500. These changes, based on national wage growth, will affect higher-income workers who contribute to the program.

The 2.8 percent adjustment for 2026 marks a modest but steady increase compared with the COVID-19 pandemic-era years, when surging prices drove COLAs of 5.9 percent in 2022 and 8.7 percent in 2023—the largest jump in more than four decades.

Although inflation has cooled significantly since then, advocates said the 2026 COLA adjustment is insufficient to account for the rise in living costs.

“The 2026 COLA is going to hurt for seniors,” Benton said in a statement. “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.”

The announcement comes as the government remains partially shut down, raising concerns about delays in public services. Social Security payments are unaffected because they are funded through permanent trust funds rather than annual appropriations, but about 6,200 agency employees have been furloughed, slowing claims processing and in-person services until normal operations resume.