Retired workers can expect to receive as much as a $194.10 increase in their monthly Social Security payments in 2027, according to projections Tuesday by a senior citizen advocacy group.
The league believes the Social Security Administration will implement a 3.8 percent cost-of-living increase in 2026, holding steady since June’s equivalent projection. Each year, the administration calculates the size of its cost-of-living increase based on factors such as inflation.
Social Security payments serve as a lifeline for many of the country’s recipients but aren’t always enough to meet seniors’ basic needs.
“The reality is that poverty is increasing rapidly among American seniors, who make up the fastest-growing portion of the homeless population,” the Senior Citizens League’s executive director, Shannon Benton, said in a statement Tuesday.
How much a recipient’s payment goes up next year depends on their retirement status, age and benefit amount.
Retired workers earning the average monthly Social Security payment might see their payments rise nearly $80 in 2027 (PA)
Retirees who earn the maximum benefit – $5,108 in 2026, can expect their benefits to go up $194.10 a month if the cost-of-living adjustment indeed is 3.8 percent in 2027, according to The Senior Citizens League.
The average Social Security recipient gets $2,084, according to the Social Security Administration, which would put their 2027 adjustment at an additional $79.19 a month.
The average for all beneficiaries, which includes retired workers and their spouses, is $1,938 in 2026, the Social Security Administration notes – it would rise $73.6 in 2027 if the 3.8 percent increase happens.
Social Security payments have come into sharp focus in 2026. A key funding source for the system is set to run out by the end of 2032, according to a June report from the Social Security Board of Trustees.
If that happens, payments could fall by as much as 22 percent, according to the trustees, erasing any recent cost-of-living gains retirees have enjoyed.
The Social Security Administration is working on solutions for the imminent funding issue.
“To protect the promise of Social Security, it is important for lawmakers and the Social Security Administration to work together to ensure the trust funds continue to provide financial stability now and for future generations,” Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in a press release.
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, pictured here, believes that lawmakers and his department will need to work together to avert the Social Security funding shortfall projected at the end of 2032 (Getty)
A bill that would increase Social Security monthly payments by 2 percent and extend the system’s trust fund by 32 years was submitted to Congress on June 29.
It takes the right steps to stave off a Social Security funding shortfall, but it likely won’t pass because it requires those earning over $400,000 to pay additional Social Security payroll taxes, The Senior Citizens League Executive Director Shannon Benton said in a statement.
“The bill is the gold standard for Social Security reform and accomplishes the majority of changes older Americans want to see for the program,” Benton said.
