Retirees will get 2.8% increase in 2026 Social Security checks

Monthly checks for nearly 71 million Americans receiving Social Security benefits will increase by 2.8% next year, a slightly larger adjustment than seen in 2025.

The cost-of-living adjustment, known as COLA, will apply to Social Security benefits starting in January and increase the average benefit for retired workers by about $56 per month to $2,071, the Social Security Administration said Friday. Higher payments for Supplemental Security Income recipients will begin on Dec. 31.  

The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its September consumer price data earlier Friday, despite the government shutdown, to ensure the SSA could meet statutory requirements related to the upcoming bump in benefits. 

The annual COLA, designed to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security beneficiaries isn’t eroded by inflation, is calculated from the consumer price index. After an inflation surge in 2022, the COLA for the following year was 8.7% — the largest in more than four decades. The adjustment that went into effect at the start of this year was 2.5%.

The SSA bases its annual COLA calculation on the percentage change in the CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers in the third quarter compared with a year earlier. Those workers cover about 30% of the population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Based on the annual adjustment, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will also increase next year to $184,500 from $176,100.