2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, Digi Mart USA News: A change is coming to Social Security checks, but there is a catch. Millions of Americans currently receiving Social Security are set to get a raise in 2027.
On October 14, the Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the largest increase since 2023, set to take effect in January 2027. That would increase the average retired worker’s monthly benefit from $2,095 to approximately $2,170.
That is an extra $75 per month, or roughly $900 over the year, before deductions. For retirees trying to stretch their retirement dollars, the increase offers some welcome relief from higher living expenses.
The increase applies to nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries, starting with January payments. About 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) would receive their benefits a little earlier, on Dec. 31, 2026.
Some people collect both benefits.
Retired couples who both receive benefits would see a bigger dollar increase. The SSA estimates the average monthly benefit for those couples would rise from $3,238 to $3,355, or about $117 more a month, a little over $1,400 a year.
Disabled workers and widowed retirees receive smaller dollar increases because their average benefits are lower. The average benefit for a disabled worker increases from $1,642 to $1,701 per month.
For an aged widow or widower collecting alone, the average goes from $1,936 to $2,005. The maximum federal SSI payment for an individual rises from $994 to $1,029 a month.
The increase is calculated under a formula tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), an inflation measure the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly. For 2027, the SSA compared the average CPI-W for July, August and September 2026 with the same three months of 2025.
That average rose 3.6%, so benefits go up by the same percentage. The 2027 increase is up from 2.8% in 2026, and it is the sixth year in a row with a COLA of 2.5% or more.
For Medicare enrollees, part of the raise would likely go toward a higher premium. Most people on Medicare have their Part B premium deducted automatically from their Social Security payment.
When that premium goes up, the deposit rises by less than the COLA.
The Part B premium is set separately from the COLA. The standard premium is $202.90 a month in 2026, up $17.90 from $185 in 2025, according to figures the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Nov. 14, 2025.
The 2027 premium has not yet been announced.
In June, the Medicare trustees projected the standard premium would rise to $209.50 in 2027, an increase of $6.60. If the final number matches that projection, the average retired worker’s deposit would rise by about $68 a month instead of $75.
Higher-income enrollees pay more. About 8% of people with Part B pay income-related surcharges, which could push the 2026 premium as high as $689.90 per month.
The SSA raises each benefit by about 3.6% of its current amount, so a $1,500 monthly benefit rises by about $54, while a $3,000 monthly benefit rises by about $108. Because benefits are based on a worker’s earnings record, people who earned more over their careers usually receive larger raises in dollar terms.
That gap reappears when premiums rise. If the Part B premium increases $6.60 as projected, it would absorb about 12% of the $54 raise but only about 6% of the $108 raise.
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a senior advocacy group, argues that COLAs tied to the CPI-W have not kept up with the prices retirees actually pay. For its 2026 Loss of Buying Power study, TSCL priced 70 goods and services the way a senior living only on Social Security might shop.
By its count, those prices rose about 43.6% from 2016 to 2026, while the CPI-W rose 37.6%. TSCL estimates that benefits have lost 13.7% of their buying power since 2016.
Making that up would take a 15.7% increase, or about $296 a month for the average beneficiary. Changing the index used for the COLA would require Congress to change the law.
The SSA will send each beneficiary a one-page notice with the exact new benefit amount, payment dates and any deductions. People with a my Social Security account can see it online starting in late November, up to three weeks before paper notices arrive.
Medicare enrollees will also find their 2027 premium amount in the account’s Message Center. Account holders can receive a text or email alert when the notice is posted.
Those who have not signed up for paperless notices may receive their COLA notice by mail in December.
Income taxes could also take part of the raise. If income plus half of benefits exceeds $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000 for joint filers, part of the benefits is taxable, and those thresholds are not adjusted for inflation.
Each COLA therefore moves some retirees closer to them.
