A Social Security cost-of-living adjustment of 2.8% will go into effect in 2026, increasing retirement benefits by $56 per month on average, according to the Social Security Administration. With many older Americans struggling to keep up with rising prices, the moderate adjustment is reigniting a long-standing debate on the calculations that go into the COLA.
The size of the latest cost-of-living adjustment is about average. Out of 51 COLAs that have been put into effect since 1975, the 2026 adjustment ranks at No. 29, according to The Senior Citizens League.
Yet just 10% of seniors are happy with the annual COLAs, a recent survey from the nonpartisan senior group found, based on responses from 1,920 adults age 62 or older.
The COLA is assessed each year to help benefits for approximately 75 million Americans keep pace with rising costs. Changing the underlying data used in its calculation could affect the size of beneficiaries’ payments, and also have implications for Social Security’s trust funds, which are running low.
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is calculated based on a subset of the consumer price index, formally known as the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W.
