Do You Get a Social Security Raise if You're Collecting Survivor Benefits?

When you hear the term Social Security, you probably think of retirement benefits. These aren't the only benefits available, though. There are also survivor benefits that are available in certain circumstances after someone passes away.

If you are collecting these benefits, they are likely an important source of funds for you that helps you cover your bills and other essential expenses. If you're relying on the money coming from them, you may be wondering if you'll be getting a Social Security raise in 2026 to help ensure that your income from them keeps pace with inflation.

So, is a 2026 benefits increase coming to Social Security survivors' benefits recipients? Here's what you need to know.

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Will survivors get a raise from Social Security in 2026?

Recipients of Social Security survivor benefits are on track for a benefits increase in 2026. This increase will happen because of a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

COLAs are built into the Social Security benefits program. They don't necessarily happen every year, but they happen most years. When the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) shows that there was inflation, or that prices have gone up on a basket of goods and services, then Social Security beneficiaries get a raise.

Specifically, the Social Security Administration looks at third-quarter data prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). If the CPI-W numbers show that costs have gone up, Social Security recipients get a cost-of-living adjustment equal to the average increase in prices during this time period.

The COLA applies to Social Security beneficiaries across the board. Whether you are a senior collecting retirement benefits to help supplement income from your retirement plans, you're collecting spousal benefits on your spouse's work history to help fund your retirement, or you're collecting survivor benefits after the death of your spouse, you will still be entitled to the increase.

All Social Security recipients who are collecting benefits get the COLA because otherwise their buying power would decline each year as prices rise, and they'd end up relying too much on their 401(k) or other accounts or not being able to cover their bills at all.

How big will the benefits increase be next year?

The Social Security COLA has not yet been officially announced for 2026. However, the Senior Citizens League, which is a senior advocacy group, has projected that the COLA is going to be 2.7%. This means that those who are collecting survivor benefits should see their checks increase by that amount.

This 2.7% COLA is slightly larger than the one that happened this year, in 2025. This year, Social Security beneficiaries got a 2.5% raise. However, while it is more generous than last year, the 2.7% raise is still one of the lower raises in the post-COVID era, as COLAs hit the highest levels in decades in recent years thanks to surging inflation levels.

Those receiving Social Security survivor benefits will find out the specific details of their COLA on Oct. 24, 2025 as that's when the average change to the CPI-W in the third quarter will be available. While normally this data is made available in mid-October, it was pushed back to the end of the month as a result of the government shutdown.

You can check for news of the raise in October if you are collecting survivor benefits, so you'll know what to expect for your 2026 payments. However, as you create your budget for the upcoming year with the benefit increase in mind, remember that while you have more money coming in thanks to the COLA, it's not really going to increase your buying power, as the adjustment to your benefits isn't really a true raise but instead just exists to help keep you from losing ground.

It's important to still spend within limits and to be careful about withdrawing too much money from other sources too quickly as you cope with inflation that continues to be above the Federal Reserve's target level of 2%.

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