Social Security recipients to get 3.6% cost of living boost, an average
of $75 per month
[October 15, 2026]
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration projected Wednesday
that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people
with disabilities will go up by 3.6% beginning in 2027, with some
recipients complaining that is not enough to offset soaring prices.
The adjustment translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72
million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about
7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income.
The announcement comes as inflation adds pressure on household budgets
and businesses and as midterm elections are weeks away.
The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees and disabled
beneficiaries is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and
their employers, up to a certain annual salary. That is set to increase
to $192,300 in 2027, from $184,500 in 2026.
The agency's commissioner, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement that the
adjustment will give recipients “greater financial stability.”
Older adults feel the bite of rising costs
Some older adults feel the increase is a drop in the bucket as inflation
has eaten away at monthly savings. The government reported Wednesday
that inflation accelerated in September, with the consumer price index
rising 3.7% in September compared with a year ago and gas prices have
spiked in the wake of renewed fighting between the United States and
Iran.
Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy group,
said the latest inflation data shows that “as important as the Social
Security COLA is, it is not keeping up with prices.”
Lorrie Ufkin, a 71-year-old retiree who lives outside Rochester,
Minnesota, said the COLA will not put a dent in her healthcare costs,
which are set to increase after the Trump administration concludes at
year's end a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that has helped
offset premiums. Ufkin said that her premiums and drug cost are expected
to rise, although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has
projected a modest increase for most people.
The COLA “doesn’t even meet what they’re going to do for changes to
Medicare,” she told The Associated Press.
She said one of the medications both she and her husband take will go
from $11 per month for each prescription, to $200 per month, after
Republican administration changes made to older Americans' healthcare
programs. She said that was “catastrophic.”
Senior advocacy groups say the COLA is a strong reminder of the
financial straits of many older people.
“There’s a lot on the line financially right now for older Americans —
one in five have no retirement savings, and more people feel financially
insecure this year than last. That makes Social Security’s
cost-of-living adjustment critically important,” said AARP CEO Dr.
Myechia Minter-Jordan.
Jaime Jakubczak, a 68-year-old resident of Buffalo, New York who retired
early at 55, has recently gone back to work to make ends meet,
specifically to afford rising property taxes. He said the COLA is
insufficient because it is offset by high inflation and a proposed 3.9%
property tax increase in his town.
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The Social Security Administration office is seen in Mount Prospect,
Ill., Oct. 12, 2022.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
Jakubczak called the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment “a pittance,"
given how high food, healthcare and gasoline prices have become
across the country.
“We were getting ahead a little bit with the COLA based on
inflation, but the inflation is so high that it doesn’t offset what
our COLA allowance is," he said.
Most older adults believe the COLA isn’t adequately keeping up with
inflation, according to an AARP poll from September. That poll found
that about three-quarters of those 50 or older disagreed with the
idea that a 3.5% COLA in 2027 would be enough to keep up with rising
prices.
Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall
The Social Security Administration faces a looming bankruptcy date
if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress.
The June 2026 Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report states
that Social Security’s combined trust funds — which cover old age
and disability recipients — will be unable to pay full benefits
beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover about
83% of scheduled benefits.
While a permanent solution for shoring up the benefits program has
not been passed into law, lawmakers on the Hill have called for new
measures to replenish the trust funds.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in June
proposed lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap, which is a
maximum amount of earnings taxable. Treating all income the same
"would generate substantial revenue that would extend the solvency
of Social Security for another generation,” they wrote in The New
York Times.
The move is controversial because Republicans have traditionally
criticized calls to raise taxes on the wealthy.
The Peterson Foundation estimates that lifting the payroll tax cap
would add roughly $3 trillion into the program over the next 10
years.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations signed into law new
benefits for retirees, which boosted their finances, but
simultaneously accelerated the insolvency of the old-age benefits
program.
The Trump administration, as part of Republicans’ tax and spending
bill, gave a temporary tax deduction for people 65 and over, which
applies to all income — not just Social Security. But those who
aren't able to claim the deduction include the lowest-income older
adults who already don’t pay taxes on Social Security, those who
choose to claim their benefits before they reach 65 and those above
a defined income threshold.
Additionally, Democratic President Joe Biden in 2024 repealed two
federal policies — the Windfall Elimination Provision and the
Government Pension Offset — that previously limited Social Security
payouts for roughly 2.8 million people, including largely former
public workers.
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