What 3.6% adds to a monthly benefit
Before rounding and deductions.
| Now | In 2027 | More a month | More a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000.00 | $1,036.00 | $36.00 | $432.00 |
| $1,500.00 | $1,554.00 | $54.00 | $648.00 |
| $2,000.00 | $2,072.00 | $72.00 | $864.00 |
| $2,500.00 | $2,590.00 | $90.00 | $1,080.00 |
| $3,000.00 | $3,108.00 | $108.00 | $1,296.00 |
| $4,000.00 | $4,144.00 | $144.00 | $1,728.00 |
| $5,000.00 | $5,180.00 | $180.00 | $2,160.00 |
Social Security and SSI
The Social Security Administration: "Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for 76 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2027. The 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2027. Increased payments to about 7.3 million SSI recipients will begin on December 31, 2026."
In the agency's actuarial note, "Social Security benefits will increase by 3.6 percent beginning with the December 2026 benefits, which are payable in January 2027." On notices: "In late November 2026, Social Security COLA notices will be available online to most beneficiaries in the Message Center of their my Social Security account."
Other 2027 amounts on the same page: the maximum earnings subject to the Social Security tax rise to $192,300.00; the earnings limit for workers younger than full retirement age rises to $25,560.00, and for people reaching full retirement age in 2027 to $67,920.00.
Military retired pay and SBP
The Department of Defense states the same figure for retirees. In its Federal Register notice of 2027 TRICARE costs: "The CY 2027 retiree COLA increase is 3.6%." Military retired pay is adjusted under 10 U.S.C. 1401a from the same third-quarter price index Social Security uses, and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities follow retired pay.
Retirees who took the REDUX career status bonus get one percentage point less (10 U.S.C. 1401a(b)(3)), so 2.6 percent this year. Our guide works the dollar amounts out by retired grade: the 2027 COLA for retired pay, SBP and VA compensation. A retirement estimate with the adjustment applied is in the High-3 calculator.
VA disability compensation: the bill is not law yet
VA compensation does not rise by itself. Congress passes an act each year that applies the Social Security percentage to VA rates from December 1. This year's bill is H.R. 8552, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026. Its status in the Government Publishing Office's record, read November 11, 2026: passed the House by voice vote on November 9, 2026, and received in the Senate on November 10, 2026.
Until it is enacted and VA publishes the table, 2027 VA figures are projections. The VA disability calculator shows the current rates and the projected ones side by side, labeled.
How the 3.6% was computed
Social Security: "A COLA effective for December of the current year is equal to the percentage increase (if any) in the CPI-W from the average for the third quarter of the current year to the average for the third quarter of the last year in which a COLA became effective." The three months, as the agency prints them:
| CPI-W for | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| July | 316.349 | 327.104 |
| August | 317.306 | 328.481 |
| September | 318.139 | 330.654 |
| Third-quarter average | 317.265 | 328.746 |
The agency's arithmetic: "(328.746 - 317.265) / 317.265 x 100 = 3.6 percent."
COLA by year
Social Security's list of automatic adjustments, by the January in which the increase is first paid.
| Paid from January | COLA |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 3.6% |
| 2026 | 2.8% |
| 2025 | 2.5% |
| 2024 | 3.2% |
| 2023 | 8.7% |
| 2022 | 5.9% |
| 2021 | 1.3% |
| 2020 | 1.6% |
| 2019 | 2.8% |
| 2018 | 2.0% |
| 2017 | 0.3% |
| 2016 | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.7% |