Though the announcement of 2027’s cost-of-living-adjustment or COLA is likely still months away, predictions from the Senior Citizens League are making headlines.
Established in 1992, TSCL is one of the largest nonpartisan seniors’ groups in the U.S. The organization’s mission as stated on its website is to “promote and assist our members and supporters, educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. citizens, and protect and defend the benefits seniors have earned and paid for.”
Among services offered by TSCL is a prediction model used to estimate the next COLA for Social Security monthly. The statistical model uses the Consumer Price Index, Federal Reserve interest rate and national unemployment rate to make its predictions.
In 2026, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for 75 million Americans increased by 2.8%. COLA amounts are generally announced yearly in mid-October. Here’s what TSCL is predicting this year, plus more information on SSA benefits in North Carolina and the U.S.
What does COLA mean?
COLA stands for cost-of-living-adjustment. These automatic changes are made to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits to keep the purchasing power of these payments constant as prices rise.
What is the Social Security COLA increase for 2026?
Social Security and SSI benefits for 75 million Americans increased by 2.8% in 2026.
What is the projected COLA increase for 2027?
Based on most recent Consumer Price Index data, TSCL predicts that the 2027 COLA increase will be the same as the 2026 increase: 2.8%. Average benefits checks for retired workers would increase by $56.69, from $2,024.77 to $2,081.46.
What are the COLA increases for the last five years?
According to the SSA, the past five years of COLA increases have been:
What is the average Social Security payment?
The average monthly Social Security benefit for all beneficiaries was $1,931.05 in March 2026, according to SSA data.
A United States Treasury government check and two social security cards resting on top of a United States federal 1040 tax return.
How many people in North Carolina receive Social Security benefits?
The SSA website lists 217,030 NC residents receiving SSI benefits as of May 2025. The most recent OASDI data available for the state is for December 2024, when the agency identified 2,329,477 beneficiaries.
How many people in the U.S. receive Social Security benefits?
Across the nation, 74,090,000 people were receiving Social Security benefits as of May 2025. This includes 57,164,000 eligible due to their age and 16,927,000 eligible due to blindness, another disability, or other reasons.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Here’s the projected COLA increase for social security in 2027
