Tens of millions of U.S. retirees could be about to receive their biggest benefits increase in several years, as the Social Security Administration (SSA) prepares to reveal its annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
How much will the 2027 COLA be?
This October, the SSA is expected to confirmed a COLA of 3.6%, according to the latest projection issued by experts at the Senior Citizens League, one of the country’s major non-partisan seniors groups.
An increase brought in at the beginning of 2027, it would be the largest such adjustment announced by the SSA since fall 2022, when an 8.7% hike was applied to 2023’s benefits, amid surging post-covid inflation in the U.S.
A yearly measure designed to prevent benefit recipients’ spending power from being hampered by inflation, the COLA affects retirement payments sent out to around 55 million seniors as part of the SSA’s Social Security program. At present, retired workers receive an average of $2,085.98 per month, per the agency’s benefits statistics for July 2026.
The SSA’s annual COLA also impacts payments issued to recipients of Social Security disability and survivor benefits, as well as low-income Americans who are signed up to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) scheme. In all, around 75 million people stand to benefit from the 2027 COLA.
How does the SSA work out the Social Security COLA?
Introduced by Congress in 1975, under an amendment to the U.S.’s Social Security Act, the yearly COLA is calculated using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CPI-W measures price changes for goods and services such as food, housing and transportation.
To determine its annual benefits adjustment, the SSA compares the CPI-W for the third quarters (July, August and September) of the past and current years. The agency then applies the percentage difference – if positive – as the COLA for the forthcoming year.
Last fall, the SSA’s comparison of U.S. price data led it to implement a 2.8% COLA for this year’s Social Security and SSI benefits. For retired workers, this meant an average benefits increase of $56 in January 2026.
When will the 2027 COLA be confirmed?
The SSA is expected to announced the COLA for 2027 benefits on October 14, 2026.
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