How Much Does Social Security Increase Each Year?

Social Security benefits rise each year through an automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA, and the size of that increase depends on how much prices rose over the prior year. For 2026, the adjustment is 2.8 percent, which adds about $56 a month to the average retired worker’s benefit and lifts it from $2,015 to $2,071.¹ There is no fixed yearly percentage; it changes with inflation, and in recent memory it has ranged from nothing at all to nearly nine percent.

Recent Yearly Increases

The clearest way to see how much Social Security goes up in a typical year is to look at the last several adjustments side by side:²

2023: 8.7 percent, the largest increase in four decades, driven by post-pandemic inflation
2024: 3.2 percent
2025: 2.5 percent
2026: 2.8 percent³

At the other end of the range, the COLA came in at 0 percent in 2010, 2011, and 2016.² A zero adjustment does not cut anyone’s benefit. Federal law prevents any reduction, even during periods of deflation, so the payment simply holds steady until prices climb above the previous baseline.³

Whatever the percentage in a given year, it applies uniformly. Every beneficiary’s gross payment goes up by that same figure, whether the check is for retirement, disability, survivors, or Supplemental Security Income. For 2026, the federal SSI payment rises to $994 a month for an eligible individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple.⁴

How the Yearly Increase Is Set

The Social Security Administration ties each year’s adjustment to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as the CPI-W. The Department of Labor tracks this index, which follows the cost of everyday goods and services such as food, housing, transportation, and medical care.⁵

The calculation compares the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the current year (July, August, and September) with the third-quarter average from the most recent year a COLA took effect.⁶ If the current average is higher, the percentage difference becomes the following year’s COLA, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. If the average is not higher, there is no increase for that year.

Because September inflation data is the last piece of the calculation, the Social Security Administration announces the upcoming COLA in mid-October, once the Department of Labor releases that report.⁵

What Reaches Your Bank Account

The COLA percentage applies to your gross benefit, not the amount deposited in your account. Most retirees have their Medicare Part B premium deducted from their Social Security payment before it goes out.⁷ When that premium rises, as it typically does, it takes a bite out of the raise.

For 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, up $17.90 from $185.00 in 2025.⁸ For an average retired worker whose gross benefit rises by about $56, roughly a third of the increase goes to the higher premium.

A “hold harmless” rule protects most beneficiaries from the worst-case scenario in which a Part B increase would leave the net check smaller than the previous year’s. When that would happen, the premium is capped so the payment stays at least the same.⁹ The protection does not cover everyone. Higher-income beneficiaries, people new to Medicare, and those who pay premiums directly rather than through Social Security withholding may not qualify.

How the Increase Can Affect Your Taxes

A higher gross benefit can push more of your Social Security into taxable territory. The federal government taxes benefits based on “combined income,” which is your adjusted gross income plus any tax-exempt interest plus half of your Social Security.¹⁰ Two thresholds apply:¹¹

Up to 50 percent of benefits become taxable when combined income tops $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (joint).
Up to 85 percent become taxable above $34,000 (single) or $44,000 (joint).

These thresholds have not been adjusted for inflation since they were written into law in 1984 and 1993. Each yearly COLA lifts benefit amounts while the thresholds stay put, so a modest raise can nudge a person near one of these lines into a higher taxable share.

When the Higher Payment Starts

For Social Security retirement and disability beneficiaries, the increased payment first appears in January. Checks arrive on a staggered schedule based on your birth date:¹²

Born 1st–10th: paid on the second Wednesday of the month
Born 11th–20th: paid on the third Wednesday
Born 21st–31st: paid on the fourth Wednesday

SSI is different. It is normally paid on the first of the month, but because January 1 is a federal holiday, the adjusted January SSI payment goes out on December 31 of the prior year.¹²

Personal COLA notices are mailed throughout December. You can also see your own figure earlier, usually in early December, in the Message Center of your my Social Security account.⁵

1
Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet
2
Social Security Administration. Cost-Of-Living Adjustments
3
Social Security Administration. Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information
4
Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026
5
Social Security Administration. How Much Will the COLA Amount Be for 2026 and When Will I Receive It
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 415 – Computation of Primary Insurance Amount
7
Medicare. How to Pay Part A and Part B Premiums
8
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles
9
eCFR. 42 CFR Part 408 – Premiums for Supplementary Medical Insurance
10
Social Security Administration. Must I Pay Taxes on Social Security Benefits
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 86 – Social Security and Tier 1 Railroad Retirement Benefits
12
Social Security Administration. Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments 2025