It's Official: Social Security Announces COLA Increase For 2026

After months of concern over the amount of the upcoming Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and anxiety over the government shutdown impacting Social Security, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced the COLA increase for 2026. The October 24 announcement was only slightly delayed from the usual annual announcement date of October 15.

The Social Security COLA increase for 2026 is set at 2.8%. This means that January 2026 will see beneficiaries get around an extra $56 per month. "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 J. Bisignano said on Social Security Matters, a blog run by the SSA. "The cost-of-living adjustment is a vital part of how Social Security delivers on its mission."

The COLA exists to help Social Security beneficiaries survive the impact of inflation. 2.8% is slightly higher than some advocate group predictions for the 2026 COLA increase. However, the increase is still too slight to handle the 3.0% yearly rise in inflation reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in September 2025. A 2.8% increase may feel slightly relieving to beneficiaries who need more money for daily bills, but it also means that yet another year has passed in which the COLA does not pace out with the prices many beneficiaries must pay.

2026 marks the fifth year in a row that the COLA has been set at a rate of 2.5% or higher. This marks a five-year COLA phenomenon that has not occurred since the mid-90s. Per SSA data, 2021 saw an announcement of a 5.9% COLA increase, and 2022's was 8.7%. It dropped in 2023 to 3.2%, and dropped again to 2.5% in 2024. Now, the 2.8% increase has been announced for 2026 benefits. In other words: inflation is high and has shown no signs of stopping.

The COLA is calculated by comparing third-quarter data from the previous year's Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) with the current year's. One could argue that CPI-W data doesn't adequately or accurately reflect the real rising costs of living in the real world. The data is based on wages earned by the modern, relatively younger workforce, but gets applied to the spending costs many seniors and disabled people have. 

Seniors spend more of their money on housing and healthcare, and have to contend with costs Medicare won't cover. While much has happened to Social Security since the 2025 COLA was announced, those who are impacted by the 2026 COLA must pay attention to the news surrounding benefits. Everyone will be impacted by COLA sooner or later. Around 73.9 million Americans rely on Social Security, and that number only grows by the day.