One of the nice things about retirement is that you can make your own schedule. What you do is what you want to do. At least, that's how an ideal retirement looks.
If you're retired and receiving Social Security benefits, you may want to pencil in something important on your calendar for next month. There's something all Social Security retirees should do on Oct. 15.
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What's so special about Oct. 15?
Before we get to the "what," let's first talk about the "when" and the "why." Oct. 15, 2025, is a special date for Social Security beneficiaries because of a key event scheduled to happen that day. To understand the significance of this event, we need to know a little about Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).
Social Security COLAs are intended to help protect benefits from being eroded by inflation. The inflation metric used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to calculate the annual increase is called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
But the SSA doesn't use CPI-W statistics from the entire year to determine the COLA. Instead, the agency compares the CPI-W numbers from the third quarter of the current year with the numbers from the same quarter in the previous year. The percentage difference (if any) is rounded to the nearest one-tenth of 1% to set the COLA for the next year.
So, why is Oct. 15, 2025, a special date? It's when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is scheduled to release inflation data, including the CPI-W, for September. Once that data is released, the SSA has all the information it needs to calculate the 2026 COLA.
Hear it from the horse's mouth
After the BLS releases the September inflation numbers at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, it won't take the SSA very long to crunch the numbers for next year's COLA. If history is any guide, the agency will announce the 2026 Social Security benefits increase a little later in the morning following the BLS monthly update.
Social Security retirees should go to the SSA's Communications Corner webpage to learn the COLA amount. You should easily be able to find a link to a press release with a headline along the lines of "Social Security Announces X.X Percent Benefit Increase for 2026."
This press release will tell you exactly how much the COLA percentage for next year will be. It will probably also share information about how you can find out later in the year what additional amount you'll receive in your monthly Social Security benefit.
Do you have to go to the SSA's website? No. You'll be able to learn the amount of the 2026 COLA from many news sources on the web. The Motley Fool will quickly analyze the Social Security benefits increase and publish at least one article on the same day the COLA is announced. But if you want to hear it from the horse's mouth, check out the SSA's Communications Corner site.
What to expect
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonprofit seniors advocacy organization, projects that the 2026 Social Security COLA will be 2.7%, based on the latest data. That's a little higher than the 2.5% increase received this year. And while there have been plenty of higher increases in Social Security COLA history, a 2.7% bump would also be slightly above the 2.6% average increase in the 21st century.
Whatever the actual COLA amount will be, don't count on all of it hitting your bank account. Why? Most retirees have Medicare Part B premiums deducted from their Social Security benefits. Those premiums are expected to soar 11.6% higher in 2026. That's enough to offset roughly 40% of a 2.7% COLA for individuals receiving the average Social Security retirement benefit.
