The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, announcement had been delayed by the government shutdown.
WASHINGTON — Millions of Social Security recipients will get a 2.8% cost-of-living increase to their monthly checks beginning in January, the Social Security Administration announced Friday.
This year’s announcement for the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, was delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown. It was initially supposed to be announced nine days earlier on Oct. 15.
The 2026 COLA for retirees translates to an average increase of about $56 per month, agency officials said.
How much will social security increase in 2026?
While agency officials put the 2026 increase at about $56, The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group for seniors, said on average, retired workers’ Social Security checks will increase by $54 from $2,008 to $2,062 starting Jan. 1, 2026.
“From a historic standpoint, this COLA is about average, ranking 29th out of the 51 COLAs announced since the government tied COLAs to the Consumer Price Index in 1975,” The Senior Citizens League said in a statement.
How much has social security increased in recent years?
Recipients received a 2.5% increase in their benefits in 2025 and a 3.2% increase in 2024, after a historically large 8.7% benefit increase in 2023, brought on by record 40-year-high inflation.
In the previous 20 years, the COLA has averaged 2.6%. Over the past decade, it’s averaged about 3.1%, the Social Security Administration said.
Almost 75 million people — including retirees, disabled people and children — receive Social Security benefits, according to the latest data.
Social Security begins notifying recipients about their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December.
“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,” said Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. “The cost-of-living adjustment is a vital part of how Social Security delivers on its mission.”
How is COLA calculated each year?
The annual COLA is based on the average annual increases in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from July through September. The September inflation report was delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown and was also released Friday.
Without the September numbers, the Social Security Administration couldn’t calculate an accurate COLA for the following year.
In recent years, there have been calls for the agency to calculate the COLA with a different index, the CPI-E, which measures price changes based on the spending patterns of the elderly, like health care, food and medicine costs.
The Senior Citizens League is one of the groups who have called for reform in the COLA calculation.
“The 2026 COLA is going to hurt for seniors,” TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton said. “Year after year, they warn that Social Security’s meager increases won’t be enough, and the Census Bureau estimates that about 10 percent of retirement-age Americans live in poverty. However, our research suggests that the number may be higher. It’s about time our elected representatives show up for seniors, or else seniors won’t show up for them at the voting booth.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.