Social Security’s 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Was Just Updated. Here’s Where It Stands.

• Social Security benefits are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year.

• Based on August’s inflation reading, experts have an updated estimate.

• There’s still room for 2026’s COLA to climb higher, but that may not be a good thing.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

Social Security commonly undergoes changes each year. The program’s earnings-test limits tend to rise from one year to the next, as does its wage cap. But perhaps the most important update in the context of Social Security is the program’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Each year, Social Security benefits are eligible for a COLA automatically. COLAs are meant to help ensure that Social Security recipients can maintain their buying power in the face of inflation.

The Social Security Administration won’t be able to officially announce a 2026 COLA until mid-October. But based on inflation data, experts are able to make a pretty good guess as to what next year’s COLA will amount to.

That projection was recently updated, and you may be curious to know where it stands.

The non-partisan Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group, tracks inflation data during the year to keep Social Security recipients updated on potential COLAs for the new year. Based on inflation data from August that was released in September, the group thinks 2026’s COLA will amount to 2.7%. This is the same projection it put out a month prior.

Now for context, 2025’s Social Security COLA was 2.5%. If the Senior Citizens League is correct, it means Social Security recipients may be looking at a more generous bump in 2026 than what they received earlier this year.

A 2.7% Social Security raise may sound better than 2.5%, but it’s certainly not the most generous. The good news is that there’s still wiggle room for 2026’s Social Security COLA to come in higher than 2.7%.

Social Security COLAs are based on inflation data throughout the third quarter of the year. Because we’re still in September, we don’t have inflation readings for the current month. That information won’t be available until October, which is why a COLA can’t officially be announced until then.

However, if inflation ends up surging in September, then 2026’s Social Security COLA could be higher than 2.7%. Whether that’s positive news or not, though, is debatable.

A larger Social Security COLA is a sign that living costs are rising at a quick pace. But that could be harmful to not just retirees on Social Security, but consumers across the board. And even if seniors get a larger COLA to compensate, it may not be enough to make up for higher prices on things like food, fuel, utilities, and more.