Month after month, tens of millions of individuals across the country eagerly await their benefit checks from the Social Security Administration (SSA). There are currently around 74 million beneficiaries in the Social Security program, with many of these households relying primarily or even solely on their monthly benefits to make ends meet. Relying primarily on a fixed income such as Social Security can become tough to navigate as inflation hikes continue to persist year after year.
As a means of remedying the effects of inflation, the SSA implements a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to all benefits once a year. The SSA made the official 2026 COLA increase announcement on October 24th, revealing a 2.8% increase to all benefits as of January 2026. Since the COLA is a percentage increase, the exact dollar figure that each respective beneficiary will receive will vary from person to person.
As such, in its official COLA announcement, the SSA also noted that it would begin mailing out personalized notices to beneficiaries as of early December. Alternatively, COLA increases will be made available online through the recipient’s my Social Security account as of late November. The agency does, however, stipulate that the my Social Security account needs to have been created by November 19th latest if the beneficiary wishes to view their COLA increase online.
What is the COLA?
The COLA, or Cost of Living Adjustment, is an annual increase implemented to all benefits issued by the SSA. This increase is essentially a measure of year over year inflation and as such, its purpose is to allow the benefit check to retain its buying power in the face of rising costs. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of the current year is measured against the CPI-W of the third quarter of the previous year, with any increase becoming the next COLA.
In 2025, all benefits were increased by 2.5%, and in 2026, all benefits will be increased by 2.8%. While the 2026 COLA is marginally higher than the 2025 COLA, both COLAs read as average from a historical viewpoint. The 2026 COLA could even be considered as below average if you are only considering the COLAs of the past decade.
“Social Security is a promise kept, and the annual cost-of-living adjustment is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security,” said Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano. “The cost-of-living adjustment is a vital part of how Social Security delivers on its mission.”
The average retiree benefit currently totals to around $2,008, meaning that the 2.8% COLA boost would translate to an additional $56. It is additionally worth noting that Medicare Part B premiums are also projected to increase by 11.6%, and as such, the value of the COLA will likely be reduced once the two increases offset each other.
SSA sets November 19th deadline
In its October 24th blog update outlining the 2026 COLA increase, the SSA also mentions that it will begin mailing out personalized COLA notices to its beneficiaries as of early December. If the beneficiary does not want to wait till then to know their specific COLA increase, they will be able to view their notice online through their my Social Security account. The SSA states that this information will be made available online as of late November, however, the account will need to be set up by November 19th latest.
”Those who have a personal my Social Security account can view their COLA notice online, which is secure, easy, and faster than receiving a letter in the mail. You can set up text or email alerts when a new message–such as your COLA notice–is available in your my Social Security account,” the SSA wrote in its update.