Social Security COLA
This year's cost-of-living adjustment, what it does to your benefit, the full history, and a running estimate for next year.
Payable from January 2027 (Supplemental Security Income from December 2026).
Range 3.3–6.0%. Statistical estimate, not an SSA figure; narrows as July–September 2027 data arrive.
How the COLA is set
By law, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits rise each year by the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The Social Security Administration compares the average CPI-W for July, August and September with the same three months of the last year that produced an increase, rounds the change to the nearest tenth of a percent, and announces it when the September CPI is published in October. If prices have not risen, there is no COLA, as in 2010, 2011 and 2016.
The 3.6% figure above is the result of that formula applied to the CPI-W published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through September 2026. The Social Security Administration's announcement is the official word: ssa.gov/cola.
The 2028 estimate
gov.house projects the CPI-W month by month with the same model it uses for CPI inflation, which accounts for seasonal patterns and base effects, and applies the COLA formula to the projected July–September average. None of the three months is published yet, so the range is still wide. The estimate is recalculated every time BLS publishes new data. How the projections work.
A higher COLA does not always mean a bigger check: Medicare Part B premiums, usually deducted from benefits, are set separately each year and can absorb part of the increase. Benefits are rounded down to the dime, so the amounts here are approximate.
Every COLA since 1985
| Benefits in | COLA | Benefits in | COLA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 3.6% | 2005 | 2.7% |
| 2026 | 2.8% | 2004 | 2.1% |
| 2025 | 2.5% | 2003 | 1.4% |
| 2024 | 3.2% | 2002 | 2.6% |
| 2023 | 8.7% | 2001 | 3.5% |
| 2022 | 5.9% | 2000 | 2.5% |
| 2021 | 1.3% | 1999 | 1.3% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | 1998 | 2.1% |
| 2019 | 2.8% | 1997 | 2.9% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | 1996 | 2.6% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | 1995 | 2.8% |
| 2016 | 0.0% | 1994 | 2.6% |
| 2015 | 1.7% | 1993 | 3.0% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | 1992 | 3.7% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | 1991 | 5.4% |
| 2012 | 3.6% | 1990 | 4.7% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | 1989 | 4.0% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | 1988 | 4.2% |
| 2009 | 5.8% | 1987 | 1.3% |
| 2008 | 2.3% | 1986 | 3.1% |
| 2007 | 3.3% | 1985 | 3.5% |
| 2006 | 4.1% |