--- title: 'Good News for Retirees: 2026 Social Security COLA Projection Ticks Up to 2.7%' description: Social Security benefits may rise 2.7% in 2026, matching current inflation. Here's what retirees can expect from the COLA increase. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 597 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-09-04T18:58:12.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 502 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-cola-2026/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Fan of social security cards with graph paper in the background](https://img.money.com/2025/08/News-Cola-Higher-Inflation-Data.jpg) How much of an increase will there be to [Social Security benefits](https://money.com/social-security-check-this-month/) in 2026? Analysts are predicting a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, a percentage that matches the headline rate of inflation reported Tuesday. Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the consumer price index, or CPI, rose 2.7% in July. That inflation rate was the same as June's, and the reading came in slightly lower than forecasts had projected. But the rate remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Each month, when headline CPI figures and other inflation metrics are updated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, analysts update their projections for the next Social Security COLA increase. ## Protect your retirement with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you are over 62, a Reverse Mortgage from Longbridge Financial (NMLS# 957935) can help you take care of expenses or even invest in things that will improve your quality of life. Click on your state to learn more. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/s978d3010185?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-cola-2026%2F) People receiving Social Security benefits — in total, a group of about 70 million that includes Americans 65 and older, spouses and people with disabilities — will get a bump to their checks in January. Monthly COLA forecasts from independent analysts give beneficiaries a sense of what to expect for the following year. The Social Security Administration will make its official COLA announcement for 2026 in October. In her recent forecast, Mary Johnson, a retired Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, projects a 2.7% COLA increase, which is unchanged from last month. Johnson explains that the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, or CPI-W, is the specific index used to calculate the COLA. In July, this index showed an inflation rate of up 2.5%, down from 2.6% the month before. The CPI-W reading for July — and the next two for August and September — will be the subject of extra attention due to the way the COLA is calculated based on third-quarter figures, Johnson adds. "Data for July, August and September from the CPI-W is averaged, and then compared against the average of the third quarter a year ago. The percentage of difference is what the Social Security Administration uses to determine the annual COLA adjustment," Johnson writes. The numbers in Johnson's forecast line up exactly with the prediction in a release from The Senior Citizens League, or TSCL. The nonpartisan organization is also projecting a 2.7% COLA increase for 2026, which is up by 0.2 percentage points since the start of the year. "Inflation continues rising as the COLA announcement looms," the TSCL said in a [release](https://seniorsleague.org/tscl-cola-projection-8-25/) on Tuesday. "The prediction from TSCL’s COLA model has consistently ticked upward. The prediction has risen each month since May, pointing to risks for resurgent inflation." While older Americans may be hoping for a larger COLA, that would depend on inflation ticking up in the coming weeks. While President Donald Trump's tariffs haven't caused a spike in inflation yet, it's something that many retirees are worried about, given the stress that additional price increases would put on their budgets, TSCL representatives said. ## With a Reverse Mortgage, you can invest in your future starting today ### Work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/t879fd448b2c?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-cola-2026%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39553/medium_d01d803f-1110-4310-8997-bada342c27e4.webp) Get the most out of your Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/ed1a928f8683?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-cola-2026%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-2026/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Good News for Retirees: 2026 Social Security COLA Projection Ticks Up to 2.7%" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-2026/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-2026/", "name": "Good News for Retirees: 2026 Social Security COLA Projection Ticks Up to 2.7%", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-09-04T18:58:12.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-2026/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-cola-2026/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Good News for Retirees: 2026 Social Security COLA Projection Ticks Up to 2.7%", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/08/News-Cola-Higher-Inflation-Data.jpg", "width": 2800, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Cola-Higher-Inflation-Data" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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