The long-awaited 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement is now just a few weeks away. You're probably eager to learn what kind of benefit boost you can expect next year, especially after the high inflation we've faced so far in 2026.
We're still waiting on a few key pieces of information needed to perform the COLA calculation, but they will arrive over the next couple of months. Here's what you need to know.
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The Social Security Administration will officially announce the 2027 COLA on the morning of Oct. 14, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. That's the day it finally gets the September inflation data, the last piece of information necessary to complete the COLA calculation.
The latest projections from the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, suggest the COLA will come in at around 3.6%. This is down slightly from the group's earlier estimate of 3.8% and reflects cooling inflation over the last couple of months. If inflation continues to slow, the COLA may come in a little lower than expected, and if inflation rises, your benefit may see a bigger boost.
A 3.6% COLA would add roughly $75 to the $2,086 average monthly benefit as of July 2026. But you could get more or less than this, depending on how your checks stack up to the current average.
Once the official Social Security COLA is in, you can use the percentage to get a rough idea of how much you'll get next year. The Social Security Administration will also send you a personalized COLA notice in early December stating your exact 2027 benefit amount.
