Social Security benefits to rise 3.6% in 2027, up from 2.8% this year

Social Security benefits will rise 3.6% in January 2027, the Social Security Administration announced on October 14, an increase that applies to 76 million Americans, Fox Business reported. A calculation from Bureau of Labor Statistics price data reproduces the 3.6% figure.

What happened

The cost-of-living adjustment, known as the COLA, applies to benefits paid for January 2027, including Social Security retirement and disability payments and Supplemental Security Income, Fox Business reported. The average retiree's benefit rises by about $75 a month.

"Social Security will implement this cost-of-living adjustment for 76 million Americans," Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said, according to Fox Business. The 2026 adjustment was 2.8%.

How the number is checked

The adjustment follows changes in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, known as the CPI-W. Using BLS data published by the St. Louis Fed, the average of the CPI-W for July, August and September 2026 was 328.746, compared with 317.265 for the same three months in 2025 (computed). That is an increase of 3.619%, which rounds to 3.6%.

Month	2025	2026
July	316.349	327.104
August	317.306	328.481
September	318.139	330.654
Three-month average	317.265	328.746

Source: BLS CPI-W, not seasonally adjusted, as compiled by the St. Louis Fed. Averages computed from the published index values.

The background

The broader consumer price index rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, up from 3.4% in the 12 months through August, according to the BLS. Energy prices were 20.4% higher than a year earlier, and gasoline was 34.2% higher. Food prices rose 2.5% over the year, and shelter, which measures housing costs, rose 3.2%.

The September figure was released on October 14, the same day as the Social Security announcement.

What to watch

The BLS is scheduled to publish October consumer prices on November 10 at 8:30 a.m. ET, according to its release schedule.

This report describes the adjustment and the data behind it. How a change in benefits interacts with taxes, Medicare premiums and other costs depends on each household's situation and is not covered here.