In May, nearly 70 million people received a traditional Social Security check. This encompasses retired workers, survivors of deceased workers, workers with disabilities, and various spouses and/or children who may qualify for a payout on behalf of a beneficiary.
For many of these individuals, Social Security income is a necessity to make ends meet. An April 2025 survey from national pollster Gallup found that 86% of retirees relied on their Social Security payout, in some capacity, to cover their expenses. In other words, there's nothing more financially important to recipients than knowing how much they'll be taking home each month.
However, Social Security isn't a static program. Changes occur on an annual basis, with most announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) during the second week of October. Though we can't write in stone what all of these changes will precisely be, there are eight transformative Social Security changes you should expect in 2026.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Social Security's 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) can lead to beefier benefits
The proverbial star among all of the annual changes is the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
COLA is the mechanism the SSA has on its toolbelt to adjust benefits for inflation (rising prices). For instance, if a large basket of goods and services regularly purchased by Social Security beneficiaries increases in cost by 2% from one year to the next, benefits would need to also rise by 2%, otherwise beneficiaries would lose buying power.
Following the June inflation report, nonpartisan senior advocacy group The Senior Citizens League is forecasting a 2.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026. With the average retired-worker benefit topping $2,000 for the first time in history in May, a 2.6% COLA would work out to about $52 extra per month come 2026.
Just keep in mind that the inflationary index used to calculate COLAs for Social Security, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, has inherent flaws that have historically short-changed the retirees who make up the bulk of program beneficiaries. With not enough weighting given to the price categories that matter most to seniors (i.e., shelter and medical care services), most annual COLAs eventually come up short.
2. High earners are likely to be opening their wallets even wider
A second change that appears almost certain to occur in 2026 is that of high earners paying more into the Social Security program.
In 2025, all earned income -- wages and salary, but not investment income -- between $0.01 and $176,000 is subject to the 12.4% payroll tax. This tax brought in 91.2% of the roughly $1.42 trillion collected by America's leading retirement program last year.
However, this upper bound (the $176,100 figure), which is commonly referred to as the "maximum taxable earnings cap," adjusts almost every year in lockstep with the National Average Wage Index (NAWI). The only time the taxable earnings cap doesn't change is if deflation occurs and no COLA is passed along.
Though this change won't affect about 94% of workers, roughly 6% of the highest earners will be opening their wallets even wider.
3. The maximum monthly Social Security payout at full retirement age should climb
Though high-earning workers are expected to pay more in 2026, historically high-earning beneficiaries can also see their maximum monthly Social Security payout at full retirement age climb to a new record.
In 2025, the highest possible monthly payout at full retirement age is $4,018 (up $196/month from the previous year). In 2026, it's a virtual certainly to be even higher.
To qualify for this maximum monthly check, retired-worker beneficiaries have to meet three unique criteria:
- They'll need to wait until their respective full retirement age before collecting their benefit.
- They'll have to have worked a minimum of 35 years, since the SSA takes their 35 highest-earning, inflation-adjusted years into account when calculating their monthly payout.
- They'll need to have met or surpassed the maximum taxable earnings cap in all 35 years taken into account by the SSA.
President Trump signing bills. Image source: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, courtesy of the National Archives.
4. The "one big, beautiful bill" will allow more retirees to avoid paying tax on their benefits
Although President Donald Trump broke his Social Security vow to completely eliminate the tax on Social Security benefits, his flagship tax and spending law, the "one big, beautiful bill," does provide a hearty consolation prize for low- and middle-income seniors.
Between tax years 2025 and 2028 (you'll prepare your tax return for calendar year 2025 in 2026), select retirees aged 65 and over will receive a $6,000 bonus deduction, or $12,000 if married and filing jointly. This added deduction should reduce the number of Social Security beneficiaries that are required to pay federal tax on some portion of their Social Security benefits.
What's worth noting is this senior "bonus" begins phasing out when modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) crosses above $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for couples filing jointly. Individual and married couples with respective MAGIs above $175,000 and $250,000 won't qualify for this temporary bonus.
5. Early filer withholding thresholds can adjust higher
Did you know that the SSA can potentially penalize retired-worker beneficiaries for collecting their payout prior to reaching full retirement age? In 2026, these penalty thresholds are expected to climb, which means early filers may be able to hang onto more of their income without forgoing their benefit.
For example, retired workers currently collecting a benefit who won't reach their full retirement age in 2025 can earn up to $23,400 ($1,950/month) without withholding kicking in. For every $2 in earned income above $23,400, the SSA can withhold $1 in benefits. This threshold (the $23,400 figure) should move up next year, which would allow early filers to generate more income without having a portion of their benefits withheld by the SSA.
The same holds true for early filers who will reach their full retirement age in the current year. In 2025, early filers can generate $62,160 ($5,180/month) in earned income before $1 in benefits is withheld for every $3 in earnings above this mark. In 2026, this $62,160 figure should climb.
Note: Withheld benefits aren't lost. The SSA returns them in the form of a higher monthly payout once a worker reaches their full retirement age.
6. Disability withholding thresholds are expected to rise
Along the same lines as early filer withholding, the SSA withholding limits for workers with disabilities should also increase in the upcoming year.
This year, non-blind workers with disabilities are allowed to bring home $1,620 per month in wages and salary without their benefit stopping. Meanwhile, blind workers with disabilities can receive $2,700 in earned income each month without their Social Security benefit ceasing.
In 2026, these substantial gainful activity limits, as they're officially known, are expected to rise. This means workers with disabilities can generate more income without losing their disability benefit.
Image source: Getty Images.
7. It should be incrementally tougher to qualify for a Social Security benefit
Another Social Security change in 2026 that'll be spurred by an increase in the NAWI is the coverage requirements to receive a benefit.
Despite what you may have read on the internet or heard from a friend or family member, you're not entitled to a Social Security payout just because you're an American citizen. Most people earn their benefit through decades of work.
Typically, the minimum threshold to qualify for a Social Security benefit is 40 lifetime work credits, of which a maximum of four can be earned annually. In 2025, a single work credit equates to $1,810 in earned income. Thus, if you earned $7,240 in wages and salary this year ($1,810 X 4), you'll have collected your maximum four work credits.
With the NAWI climbing, the amount you'll need to earn to collect lifetime work credits should be modestly higher in 2026.
8. West Virginia will bid adieu to state-level tax on Social Security income
The last transformative Social Security change that's guaranteed to happen in 2026 is a complete phase-out of the tax on Social Security benefits in the Mountain State.
Single and married filers in West Virginia with adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) below $50,000 and $100,000, respectively, are able to exclude all of their Social Security benefits from state-level taxation. For those above this limit, a phase-out deduction comes into play.
Beginning in 2024, West Virginia exempted 35% of Social Security benefits from state income tax for those above the respective $50,000 and $100,000 AGI limits. This was escalated to 65% of benefits in 2025, and will extend to 100% of Social Security income for all beneficiaries in the upcoming year. When the calendar changes over to 2026, only eight states will still have some form of Social Security income tax on their books.
