The announcement for the 2026 COLA is delayed due to the federal shutdown, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not published the September 2025 Consumer Price Index. But now, the BLS has confirmed the CPI release date, so recipients wondering about the 2026 COLA can check the expected COLA, announcement date, and other details.
The Social Security Administration used the Cost-of-Living-Adjustment every year to adjust the Social Security benefits. The COLA calculator depends on the CPI of the third quarter of the current and prior year; hence, the September 2025 CPI is needed for the 2026 COLA calculation.
The prediction for the 2026 COLA has been going on for a while, and the experts believe it will increase this year as well, with a better rate than in 2025. You can expect your Social Security payments to reflect the adjustment from January 2026.
When can you expect the 2026 Social Security COLA Increase announcement?
The Social Security recipients have been waiting for the COLA 2026 for a long time, and considering the previous timeline, the announcement should have been made by now, but due to the federal shutdown, it’s been delayed.
Due to the shutdown, the BLS has not released the CPI, which was expected to be released on 15 October 2025, which also affected the COLA calculation. But now the wait is over, you have some timeline as BLS has confirmed they will publish the September 2025 CPI by 24 October 2025 at 08:30 AM.
So, if the CPI is released by 24 October, you can expect the SSA to announce the 2026 COLA shortly afterwards in the following days. You will know by what extent your Social Security benefits amount will increase.
What are the expectations for the 2026 Social Security COLA?
The prediction for the 2026 COLA has been going on for a while, based on recent inflation data. The SSA COLA Adjustment never decreases the payment; it either increases it or keeps it constant based on inflation.
The Senior Citizens League projected the 2026 COLA to be around 2.7% to 2.8%, which is higher than the 2025 COLA adjustment. The CPI for July and August has increased by 0.2% 0.4%, respectively. While the average for the CPI-W for the 2024 third quarter was 308.729.
The highest COLA that we have experienced in the last 20 years was 8.7% in 2023, while the lowest was in 2010 and 2011. With the 2.7% to 2.8% expectations, the social security recipients will see an increase of $50 to $54 in their payments.
How much will your Social Security payments be after the increase?
With the expected 2026 COLA increase, Social Security recipients can expect their payments to increase by the following amount from January 2026:
- Retirees can expect their payment to increase by $50 to $54 based on the current prediction, that is, $5158 for a retiree at age 70, from $5018, for a retiree at age 62 can expect their amount is expected to increase to $2880 from $2831.
- The SSI payment will also be from $967 to $110 for individuals, and from $1450 to $1500 for couples qualifying for the SSI.
Along with the Social Security benefit amounts, the recipients can also experience a change in the income threshold, full retirement age. The SSA will release the full 2026 COLA fact sheet that will include your new payments and the following changes for 2026.
Will the Medicare Part B premium rise?
The retirees who pay the Medicare Part B premium from their Social Security increase should know the increase in the premium. According to the reports, the standard Medicare Part B premium will increase by 11.6% from $185 to $206.50 per month.
The retirees’ social security retirement benefit increase will depend on the Medicare Part B premium deducted from their checks; hence, it’s important to know. The Medicare Part B premium for 2026 has yet to be announced; hence, the retirees should keep an eye out for it as well.
The Social Security Administration will soon have the CPI-W for September 2025 to calculate the 2026 COLA, so the recipients should be ready to know their 2026 benefit payment amount. The federal shutdown will not affect the COLA increase implementation, so you should not worry about the payment distribution.
Disclaimer: The 2026 Social Security COLA increase information is for reference only. Official adjustment rates are determined by the SSA.
