Nearly 75 million Americans receiving Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits

Social Security COLA increase 2026: Benefits set to rise 2.8% in January— How much you could receive

Nearly 75 million Americans receiving Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits will see their monthly checks increase by 2.8 per cent effective December 2025 (payable in January 2026), the agency confirmed on its official site.

Here is what you need to know:

What is changing?

The SSA’s official “Cost-of-Living Adjustment ” (COLA) for 2026 is set at 2.8 per cent, based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

For a typical retiree, the increase works out to about US $56 extra per month on average.

The adjustment applies to recipients of retirement, disability, survivors' benefits and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programme. For SSI recipients, the higher rates will begin with the December 31, 2025, payment.

Read More: Social Security and SSI November 2025 payments: Full schedule explained