I Don't Know What the 2027 Social Security COLA Will Be, but I Am Pretty Sure About This
Key Points
The 2027 Social Security COLA will almost certainly be larger than the 2.8% 2026 COLA.
However, it may come in lower than the current 3.6% estimate.
We'll learn the actual 2027 COLA on Oct. 14, 2026.
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We won't know the 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for a few more weeks, but I'm pretty certain it'll be much higher than the 2.8% boost seniors saw this year. The thought of extra money is encouraging, especially for those struggling to get by on their existing benefits. But it's important to keep things in perspective.
Social Security COLAs are designed to help your benefits keep up with inflation, not to increase your standard of living. And even an above-average COLA might not go as far as you think next year.
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The latest 2027 COLA estimate is 3.6%, according to The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), down slightly from its earlier estimate of 3.8%. The decrease reflects slowing inflation over the last couple of months, and if this trend continues, the actual COLA might come in lower than current projections suggest. But inflation is unlikely to drop enough to bring next year's benefit boost in line with or below the 2.8% increase seniors saw in 2026.
A 3.6% Social Security COLA would add roughly $75 to the $2,086 average monthly retirement benefit as of July 2026. But you may get a larger or smaller boost, depending on how your current checks stack up to this average.
We'll learn the actual COLA on Oct. 14, 2026. Once we know the percentage, you can add it to your existing checks to get an idea of how much more you'll get from Social Security next year.
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