Topline
The Social Security Administration is set to announce its 2027 cost-of-living adjustment on Wednesday, with estimates signaling a 3.5% to 3.6% increase—a crucial figure for millions of beneficiaries as inflation continues to drive up living costs.
A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the cost-of-living adjustment on Wednesday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the September consumer price data at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, reflects the annual increase to monthly Social Security payments, which the SSA calculates based on inflation data, and affects Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group, predicts the cost-of-living adjustment will be 3.5%, and the American Association of Retired Persons estimates 3.6%, based on current inflation data.
Social security beneficiaries received a 2.8% COLA in 2026, which increased the average retired workers’ benefit by about $56 to $2,064.
The adjustment will show up in Social Security beneficiaries’ checks starting in January.
KEY BACKGROUND
Social Security’s annual COLA is based on the average percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from July, August and September of the current year compared to the prior year. Estimates for the 2027 COLA are based off of current inflation data, excluding September’s, which comes out on Wednesday. The Senior Citizens League conducted a survey in 2026, finding that 89% of older Americans believed the 2026 COLA was too low, and their checks would fall behind inflation.
BIG NUMBER
75.9 million. This is the number of Americans who received Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or both, as of August, according to SSA data.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“The biggest thing we’re watching with the COLA announcement coming are short-term shocks to the economy that push inflation way up or down in the next 30 days. Of the three CPI-W figures used to calculate the COLA, two are already in,” The Senior Citizens League Executive Director Shannon Benton said in September.
FURTHER READING
Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustment Rises To 2.8% For 2026—Here’s What To Know (Forbes)
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