Social Security benefits in the United States will rise by 3.6 percent in 2027, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on October 14 — a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that works out to about $75 more per month for the average retired worker.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries — yaani about 7.2 crore people — will see the increase beginning in January 2027, the SSA said. Increased payments to about 7.3 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will begin a day earlier, on December 31, 2026, because January 1 is a federal holiday.
The SSA's fact sheet puts the average retired worker's benefit at $2,095 a month before the adjustment and $2,170 after it. The 3.6 percent rise is larger than the 2.8 percent increase paid for 2026 and the biggest since the increase that took effect in 2023, according to reporting on the announcement.
Source: Los Angeles Post / The Conversation
How the increase is set — and when your notice arrives
By law, the COLA is calculated automatically from the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), comparing the average for July, August and September with the same quarter a year earlier; Congress does not vote on it each year. The same morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer prices were up 3.7 percent over the year to September.
Beneficiaries with a personal my Social Security account can read their individual COLA notice online starting in late November — up to three weeks before the paper notice arrives by mail in December, the SSA said. People who want the online notice need an account and paperless enrolment by November 18. The notice is a simplified one-page statement showing the exact new benefit amount and any deductions.
The increase is automatic — no application is needed. The 2027 Medicare Part B premium, which is deducted from many benefits, has not been announced yet; the SSA says it will appear in the my Social Security Message Center in late November, so the net rise in take-home payments will vary by person.
"Social Security will implement this cost-of-living adjustment for 76 million Americans, giving them greater financial stability," SSA Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said in the release, counting Social Security and SSI recipients together. Analysts writing on the announcement note the adjustment is based on an index reflecting working people's spending, which may not fully match the healthcare and housing costs many retirees face.