The 2027 Social Security COLA
Social Security benefits rise 3.6% Official for 2027. The raise shows up in payments from January 2027, but what lands in your account also depends on the Medicare premium.
At a glance
- 2027 COLA: 3.6% Official source
- 2026 COLA, for comparison: 2.8% Official source
- Announced: October 14, 2026, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases September inflation data
- First paid: January 2027 for Social Security; December 31, 2026 for SSI
- Who gets it: about 71 million Social Security beneficiaries and 7.5 million SSI recipients
See what it means for your check
How the COLA is calculated
The COLA isn’t a decision anyone makes. It’s a formula set by law. SSA compares average inflation for July, August and September of this year with the same three months last year, using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The percentage increase, rounded to one decimal place, is the COLA. If prices didn’t rise, there is no COLA; benefits never go down because of it.
SSA announced the 2027 COLA on October 14, 2026: 3.6%, based on the rise in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2025 to the third quarter of 2026 (SSA 2027 fact sheet). Forecasts in September ranged from 3.5% to 3.6%. You can still try any value in the calculator.
What the COLA does to your benefit
SSA applies the COLA to your benefit before any deductions, then rounds the result down to the whole dollar. A $1,500 benefit with a 3.5% COLA becomes $1,552.50, which is paid as $1,552. Then Medicare premiums and any tax withholding come out.
| December 2026 | January 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Benefit before deductions | $1,500.00 | $1,554.00 |
| Part B premium taken out | −$202.90 | −$209.50 |
| Deposit | $1,297.10 | $1,344.50 |
This is why the raise you see in your bank account is often smaller than the COLA percentage suggests: the Part B premium usually goes up in January too. For 2027 the Medicare trustees project a standard premium of $209.50 Projection, up from $202.90. More on the 2027 premium.
Recent COLAs
| First paid in January | COLA |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 3.6% Official |
| 2026 | 2.8% |
| 2025 | 2.5% |
| 2024 | 3.2% |
| 2023 | 8.7% |
| 2022 | 5.9% |
| 2021 | 1.3% |
| 2020 | 1.6% |
| 2019 | 2.8% |
Source: SSA, Cost-of-Living Adjustments. SSA’s own table labels each COLA by the December it takes effect; the raise is first paid the following January.
When you’ll see the new amount
- Social Security: in your January 2027 payment. Most people are paid on the second, third or fourth Wednesday, depending on their birthday. See the 2027 schedule.
- People paid on the 3rd (those who started before May 1997, or who get both Social Security and SSI): your January payment arrives Thursday, December 31, 2026, because January 3 is a Sunday and January 1 is a holiday.
- SSI: the January 2027 payment, with the increase, also arrives December 31, 2026. More on SSI.
Common questions
Do I need to do anything to get the COLA?
No. It’s automatic for everyone receiving Social Security or SSI.
Is the COLA taxed?
The COLA is part of your benefit, so it’s treated the same way as the rest of it. Whether any of your benefit is federally taxable depends on your total income; see the SSA page on benefit taxes.
Could the COLA be zero?
Only if prices didn’t rise over the year. That’s why there was no COLA in 2010, 2011 and 2016. No forecaster expects that for 2027.
Figures last checked against official sources: