Social Security’s 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment – the amount of increase beneficiaries will receive in the coming year – has been announced.
Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive a 2.8% increase in 2026. The COLA is up slightly from last year’s 2.5% but less than the 3.2% boost recipients received in 2023.
More than 71 million Social Security beneficiaries will see the increase on their January 2026 payment. Increased payments for nearly 7.5 million SSI recipients will start on Dec. 31, 2025. The change will increase benefits for the average recipient by $56 per month.
The 2026 COLA announcement was scheduled to be released on Oct. 15 but was pushed back due to the ongoing government shutdown. COLA is determined by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, for the third quarter of the year – July, August and September. That figure is compiled and then compared to the CPI-W for the same period the previous year. The year-over-year difference is the new COLA payable in the coming year.
Other 2026 changes include:
- The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will increase to $184,500.
- The earnings limit for workers younger than full retirement will increase to $24,480. ( $1 is deducted from benefits for each $2 earned over $24,480.)
- The earnings limit for people reaching their full retirement age in 2026 will increase to $65,160. ($1 is deducted from benefits for each $3 earned over $65,160 until the month the worker turns full retirement age.)
- There is no limit on earnings for workers who are full retirement age or older for the entire year.
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