Every Social Security beneficiary will get a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year, but yours will likely look a lot different from your neighbors’. That’s because COLAs are percentages, so your actual increase depends on the size of your checks today.
Unsurprisingly, those with the largest Social Security checks will also receive the largest benefit boosts. What’s unexpected is how little they’ll likely get.
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The maximum Social Security benefit for 2026 is $5,181 per month. We don’t know exactly what 2027’s COLA will look like yet, but recent projections from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior group, put it at around 3.8%. If this is accurate, the wealthiest Social Security beneficiaries today would only see their checks increase by about $197. That’s a drop in the bucket for these seniors.
The average retiree will get a lot less. The average monthly Social Security check as of May 2026 is about $2,083. A 3.8% COLA would add about $79 to that, bringing the new average to somewhere around $2,162.
It’s probably less than what you were hoping for, but it’s above average compared to the last 50 years of COLAs. There’s still time for it to change. The Social Security Administration won’t officially announce the COLA until October.
Just keep in mind that higher COLAs aren’t strictly good news. High COLAs occur amid high inflation, so whatever money you get will go toward higher living costs, rather than buying a better lifestyle.
Once the Social Security Administration announces the 2027 COLA, you’ll be able to add that percentage to your current checks to get an idea of how much your benefits will be next year. You’ll also get a personalized COLA notice in December stating your exact 2027 benefit amount.
