AI Image
Social Security COLA Forecasts Predict Biggest Boost Since COVID
Newsweek • • business
Key Points:
- Social Security recipients are expected to receive a 3.5 to 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2027, marking the largest increase since the 8.7 percent hike in 2023 following pandemic-related inflation.
- The official COLA announcement will be made on October 14, after the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases September’s inflation data, which completes the calculation based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
- A 3.5 to 3.6 percent increase would raise the average retired worker’s monthly benefit by approximately $73 to $75, totaling about $2,161 to $2,163 per month starting January 2027.
- The COLA helps Social Security benefits keep pace with inflation, which has been influenced recently by higher energy prices, tariffs, and persistent service sector price growth, impacting over 70 million retirees and disabled Americans.
- Beneficiaries will receive personalized notices of their new benefit amounts in December, with the increase applying to payments made in January 2027 (or late December for Supplemental Security Income recipients).
