October 18, 2026. The number is in. The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 on October 14 — the same morning September CPI printed 3.7%. Average retired-worker benefits rise $75 a month, from $2,095 to $2,170, starting with the January 2027 payment. About 72 million Social Security beneficiaries get it then. About 7.3 million SSI recipients get it one day earlier, in the December 31, 2026 payment. Official release: SSA, Oct. 14, 2026.
That is the largest COLA since the 8.7% of 2023, and hotter than last year’s 2.8%. It is still a wage-earner index, measured on a lag, applied in January to prices you already paid in July, August, and September. Gasoline is up 34% over the year. Fuel oil is up 74%. A 3.6% raise does not close that gap. It just documents it.
The formula, not the press release
COLAs are CPI-W, third quarter versus third quarter, rounded to the nearest tenth. SSA’s own worksheet:
- Q3 2025 average CPI-W: 317.265
- Q3 2026 average CPI-W: 328.746
- (328.746 − 317.265) / 317.265 = 3.6%
Monthly CPI-W: July 327.104, August 328.481, September 330.654. September’s 12-month CPI-W was 3.9% — hotter than headline CPI-U’s 3.7% — because the wage-earner basket weights fuel more. The COLA is the three-month average, not that single 3.9% print. (SSA, latest COLA computation; September CPI.)
What the check actually does
| Who | Before 3.6% | After | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| All retired workers | $2,095 | $2,170 | +$75 |
| Aged couple, both receiving | $3,238 | $3,355 | +$117 |
| Aged widow(er) alone | $1,936 | $2,005 | +$69 |
| All disabled workers | $1,642 | $1,701 | +$59 |
| SSI individual (federal) | $994 | $1,029 | +$35 |
| SSI couple (federal) | $1,491 | $1,544 | +$53 |
Those are SSA’s estimated averages payable in January 2027, from the 2027 COLA fact sheet. Your number is your number. The $75 headline is the typical retired worker, not a floor.
Medicare will take a cut. CMS has not said how much.
Most people on Medicare have Part B pulled from the Social Security deposit before it hits the bank. Last year the premium jumped $17.90 to $202.90 — and ate a large share of the 2.8% COLA. CMS has not published the official 2027 Part B premium yet. SSA says it will show up in my Social Security in late November and in the mailed notice in December.
The Medicare trustees’ latest projection is $209.50 a month — up $6.60 from 2026, with the Part B deductible going from $283 to about $292. Treat that as a forecast, not a bill. If it holds, the average $75 raise nets something like $68 after Part B, before Part D, Medigap, or IRMAA. Better than last year’s math. Still not “greater financial stability” if rent moved $50 and the fill-up moved $20.
The other 2027 numbers that moved
- Wage base: $184,500 → $192,300. OASDI tax (6.2% employee) stops at the cap; Medicare’s 1.45% does not.
- Earnings test, under full retirement age all year: $24,480 → $25,560 ($1 withheld for every $2 over).
- Earnings test, year you reach FRA: $65,160 → $67,920 ($1 for every $3 over, months before FRA). No limit once you are FRA for the whole year.
- Disability SGA: $1,690 → $1,770 non-blind; $2,830 → $2,950 blind. Trial work period: $1,210 → $1,270.
- SSI resource limits: still $2,000 individual / $3,000 couple. The payment went up. The asset test did not.
When you see it
Paper COLA notices mail in December. If you create a my Social Security account and opt into paperless notices by November 18, SSA says you can see the notice online in late November — up to three weeks earlier. The January Social Security payment is the first with 3.6% on it. SSI’s January payment is dated December 31 because January 1 is a holiday.
Open enrollment for Medicare runs through December 7. Do not wait for the COLA letter to decide a plan if your drugs or doctors already changed.
Does 3.6% keep up?
No. Not with this year’s energy. Shelter in September CPI was +3.2% over the year — close to the COLA. Gasoline was +34.2%. Fuel oil +74.2%. Core CPI is 2.6%. The index that sets your raise is built for urban wage earners, not for a retiree whose basket is housing, Medicare, and the grocery list. We walked through that gap when the 2026 COLA was 2.8%: why the COLA doesn’t match your grocery bill.
Wholesale prices then printed hotter the next day: September PPI +1.3% on the month, energy +10.8%. That is the pipeline into 2027’s grocery and freight bills, not into this COLA. The next COLA, for 2028, will not start measuring until July 2027.
FAQ
What is the Social Security COLA for 2027?
3.6%. SSA announced it October 14, 2026. Average retired-worker benefits go from $2,095 to $2,170 a month in January 2027.
When does the 2027 COLA start?
Social Security: the January 2027 payment. SSI: December 31, 2026.
How is the COLA calculated?
CPI-W, third quarter of 2026 versus third quarter of 2025. SSA rounded (328.746 − 317.265) / 317.265 to 3.6%.
Will Medicare cancel the raise?
It will take some of it. CMS has not announced the 2027 Part B premium. Trustees project $209.50, up $6.60. Your December notice is the real net.
Bottom line
3.6% is a real increase, and it is bigger than last year because CPI-W ran hotter — mostly energy. Seventy-five dollars on the average check is not a rounding error. It is also not a hedge against a 9% gas month or a 74% heating-oil year. Budget from the net deposit in January, not from the press release. Check the inflation calculator against your own basket, and the retirement inflation hub if you are still building the nest egg this raise is supposed to protect.
Sources: SSA press release, Oct. 14, 2026; 2027 COLA fact sheet; SSA COLA computation; SSA COLA information; BLS CPI, September 2026; Medicare trustees’ Part B projection via AARP. Related: 2026 COLA vs. real costs, September CPI, September PPI.