Key Points
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Social Security recipients rely on cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to keep up with rising costs.
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COLAs can’t be announced until third-quarter inflation readings become available.
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A huge mid-October announcement is worth tuning in for.
Even if you have a nice chunk of money saved, you may depend pretty heavily on Social Security to cover your living expenses in retirement. And if you don’t have much or any savings, those monthly benefits may be crucial to your financial survival.
Of course, living on just Social Security can be challenging. As of April 2026, the average monthly retirement benefit was just $2,081. On an annual basis, that’s just shy of $25,000.
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You may be hoping for a sizable cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in 2027, to boost your monthly Social Security benefits. This year, benefits rose only 2.8% in January, which did not result in much added buying power for seniors.
It’s too soon to know what next year’s Social Security COLA will amount to. But if you tune in on Oct. 14, you should get your answer.
What we know about 2027’s COLA so far
Inflation has surged in the wake of the Iran conflict. In May, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. The CPI-W is the specific index used to calculate Social Security COLAs.
Based on the most recent CPI-W reading, the Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group, projected that next year’s Social Security COLA will come in at 3.8%. That would clearly be a notable increase from this year’s raise.
Of course, for that to happen, inflation will need to remain elevated through the summer. That’s because Social Security COLAs are based on third-quarter CPI-W readings.
The tricky thing is that seniors who are wishing for a larger COLA in 2027 are actually secretly hoping that higher prices will be sustained through September.
Most Social Security recipients don’t realize that benefits can increase substantially only when prices go up considerably. A small increase in the CPI-W from year to year, for example, would produce a modest COLA to match.
When 2027’s Social Security COLA officially gets announced
Each year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) typically makes an official COLA announcement in October following the release of September’s CPI-W. This year, that’s slated to happen on Oct. 14, so it’s a good day to tune in to the news or check the SSA’s website for more information.
Of course, last year’s Social Security COLA announcement was delayed for over a week due to the government shutdown. We can hope that there won’t be a repeat delay this October, though anything’s possible.
In addition to releasing an official COLA, the SSA will most likely share other key updates on the program on Oct. 14, including Social Security’s maximum monthly benefit for 2027, the program’s earnings-test limits, and the wage cap that dictates how much income workers can be taxed on to fund the program. So all told, it’s a good day to have Social Security on your radar.
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