Social Security will raise benefits by 2.8% in 2026, delivering an average increase of about $56 per month to nearly 71 million beneficiaries starting in January, the Social Security Administration announced in October 2025.
The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, reflects inflation trends over the past year. For a retired worker receiving the average benefit, the increase will raise monthly payments from $2,015 to $2,071.
The 2.8% adjustment is slightly higher than the 2.5% COLA that took effect in 2025, signaling a modest uptick in inflation after several years of cooling price growth. The COLA is calculated annually based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), measured from the third quarter of the prior year to the same quarter of the current year.
Beyond the annual COLA increase, millions of Social Security beneficiaries are also receiving retroactive payments under the Social Security Fairness Act, which eliminated two provisions that had reduced benefits for certain public employees. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) no longer apply to benefits payable as of January 2024.
The Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, restored full Social Security benefits to educators, police officers, and other public sector workers who had been subject to those reductions. By March 2026, the Social Security Administration had paid approximately $17 billion in retroactive payments to 3.1 million beneficiaries, covering the gap from January 2024 through the date of their claim.
Processing of retroactive payments has continued throughout 2026, though some complex cases have taken longer than anticipated. Most people received their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, deposited into their bank account on file with Social Security. Larger back-pay amounts may be distributed in up to three installments spaced six months apart.
The 2.8% increase applies to all Social Security beneficiaries, including retired workers, disabled workers receiving SSDI, and survivors of deceased workers. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients also receive the same percentage increase on their federal benefits.
