Want the full story - how the CPI-W sets the COLA, when the new amount arrives, how the Part B premium and the hold-harmless rule interact with it, and the full 2027 Social Security numbers? Read the companion guide.
Read the Social Security COLA 2027 Guide →
Short Answer
Social Security benefits increase 3.6% for 2027. The raise starts with the benefit for December 2026, paid in January 2027 (SSI recipients get it in the December 31, 2026 payment). To estimate your new check, multiply your benefit by 1.036 and round down: SSA rounds the increased amount down to the dime, then rounds the payable check down to the whole dollar. A $1,900 benefit becomes $1,968, a $68 monthly raise or $816 a year. If your Medicare Part B premium is deducted, the 2026 standard premium is $202.90; CMS had not published the 2027 premium as of October 19, 2026.
Key Takeaways
- 2027 COLA: 3.6%, up from 2.8% for 2026 and 2.5% for 2025.
- Timing: applies to December 2026 benefits paid in January 2027; SSI rises with the December 31, 2026 payment.
- Rounding: the increased PIA is rounded down to the next lower 10 cents, and the payable benefit down to the next lower dollar.
- Average retired worker: SSA estimates $2,095 before the COLA and $2,170 after it.
- Part B: the 2026 standard premium is $202.90; the 2027 premium is set by CMS, not SSA, and was not yet published on October 19, 2026.
- Not claimed yet? COLAs apply to your PIA from the year you turn 62, whether or not you have filed.
- Other 2027 changes: taxable maximum $192,300; earnings-test limits $25,560 and $67,920; SSI federal rate $1,029 individual.
How This Calculator Applies the COLA
The cost-of-living adjustment is a percentage, but the check you receive is not your old check times 1.036 to the cent. The Social Security Act sets the rounding at each step, and this tool follows the same order. For the background on how the 3.6% figure is set and what else changes in 2027, see the Social Security COLA 2027 Guide.
Step 1: Increase the Base by 3.6% SSA
The COLA effective for December 2026 is 3.6%. SSA applies it to your primary insurance amount (PIA), the full-retirement-age benefit that every reduction, delayed credit and family benefit is built on. In PIA mode the tool increases your PIA. In benefit mode it increases the whole-dollar check you enter, which is a close stand-in when you do not have the PIA.
Step 2: Round Down to the Dime Statute
Section 215(i) of the Social Security Act says any increased amount that is not a multiple of $0.10 "shall be decreased to the next lower multiple of $0.10." The rounding is always down, never to the nearest dime. Each later COLA is applied to this rounded amount, so the projection compounds from the dime value, not from the whole-dollar check.
Step 3: Apply Your Claiming Percentage SSA
If you claimed early or late, your benefit is a percentage of the PIA: about 70% at 62 with a full retirement age of 67, 100% at full retirement age, and 124% at 70. The tool applies the percentage you enter to the increased PIA. In benefit mode this step is already built into the amount you entered.
Step 4: Deduct Part B, Then Round Down to the Dollar Statute
Section 215(g) rounds the monthly benefit down to the next lower whole dollar, after any Medicare premium deduction. The tool shows the benefit before deductions (rounded down to the dollar) and, when you give it a premium, the deposit after the premium (also rounded down). For 2027 the premium field stays empty until CMS publishes the new figure.
Social Security Numbers for 2026 and 2027
SSA 2027 Fact Sheet
| Item | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|
| Cost-of-living adjustment | 2.8% | 3.6% |
| Average retired-worker benefit (January estimate) | $2,095 before COLA | $2,170 after COLA |
| Average aged couple, both receiving | $3,238 before COLA | $3,355 after COLA |
| Maximum benefit, worker retiring at FRA | $4,152/mo | $4,188/mo |
| SSI federal payment, individual / couple | $994 / $1,491 | $1,029 / $1,544 |
| Taxable maximum (OASDI) | $184,500 | $192,300 |
| Earnings test, under FRA all year | $24,480 | $25,560 |
| Earnings test, year you reach FRA | $65,160 | $67,920 |
| Medicare Part B standard premium | $202.90 | Not yet published by CMS |
The average benefit figures are SSA estimates for benefits payable in January 2027, before and after the 3.6% COLA. The maximum benefit at full retirement age rises by less than 3.6% because each year's new retirees use that year's own benefit formula, not last year's maximum plus the COLA.
Worked Examples
Example 1 - Benefit mode: $1,900 monthly benefit
$1,900 x 1.036$1,968.40
Rounded down to the dollar$1,968 per month
Increase$68/mo, $816/yr
Deposit now after $202.90 Part B ($1,900 - $202.90 = $1,697.10)$1,697
Example 2 - PIA mode: PIA $1,862.40, claimed at full retirement age
$1,862.40 x 1.036$1,929.4464
Rounded down to the dime (new PIA)$1,929.40
Payable, rounded down to the dollar$1,929 (was $1,862)
Example 3 - PIA mode: PIA $2,000.00, claimed at 62 (70% of PIA)
New PIA ($2,000.00 x 1.036)$2,072.00
70% of the new PIA$1,450.40
Payable, rounded down$1,450 (was $1,400, +$50)
Example 4 - Why round-down matters: PIA $1,000.90
$1,000.90 x 1.036$1,036.9324
Down to the dime, then the dollar$1,036
Ordinary rounding would say$1,037 - not what SSA pays
Example 5 - Projection: $1,000 benefit, assumed 2.5% COLAs after 2027
2027 (3.6%): $1,036.00$1,036
2028 (2.5% assumed): $1,036.00 x 1.025 = $1,061.90$1,061
2029 (2.5% assumed): $1,061.90 x 1.025 = $1,088.4475, down to $1,088.40$1,088
Recent COLA History
Automatic COLAs, first paid in January (SSA)
| Paid from | COLA | Paid from | COLA |
|---|
| January 2018 | 2.0% | January 2023 | 8.7% |
| January 2019 | 2.8% | January 2024 | 3.2% |
| January 2020 | 1.6% | January 2025 | 2.5% |
| January 2021 | 1.3% | January 2026 | 2.8% |
| January 2022 | 5.9% | January 2027 | 3.6% |
There was no COLA for January 2010, 2011 or 2016, because the CPI-W did not rise. The law allows a zero COLA but never a cut. Use this range, not a single good or bad year, when you pick the assumed future COLA above.
Practitioner Insight (LMN Tax Inc.)
LMN Tax Inc. - Planning Notes
Every October clients call with the headline number and a mental multiplication, and every January a few call back because the deposit is a dollar or two lower than they expected. The difference is almost always the rounding: SSA rounds down at every step, and the Part B deduction comes out before the final round-down. We now run the COLA through the same order of operations before the client sees the letter, so the January deposit is not a surprise.
The bigger January surprise is Medicare. The COLA is announced in October; the Part B premium usually comes weeks later from CMS. A client whose premium rises sharply can see most of the raise disappear. The hold-harmless rule protects many long-time beneficiaries from a net decrease, but it does not protect people paying IRMAA, people who just enrolled, or anyone whose premium is not deducted from their check. For those clients we wait for the CMS figure before telling anyone what their net raise is.
We also remind clients who have not filed yet that they are not missing the COLA. Someone who turned 62 this year and plans to wait until 70 still gets the 3.6% increase on their PIA. That matters in claiming discussions: the delayed-retirement credits and the COLAs both stack on the same base.
Finally, a higher COLA can nudge taxes. The provisional-income thresholds that decide how much of a benefit is taxable are fixed in the tax code and have never been indexed, so a 3.6% raise can push a retiree sitting just under a threshold slightly over it. We rerun the taxable-benefits estimate every January for clients near the line.
When This Calculator Does Not Cover Your Situation
- You only know your whole-dollar check. SSA applies the COLA to your PIA, which carries cents your check does not show. Benefit mode starts from the whole-dollar amount, so the result can be $1 off. Use PIA mode for a closer figure.
- Reduction and credit rounding. SSA computes early-claiming reductions and delayed credits with its own rounding steps. PIA mode applies your percentage to the new PIA and rounds the result down to the dollar, which can differ from SSA's figure by about $1.
- Hold-harmless and IRMAA. If the 2027 Part B premium rises by more than your COLA, the hold-harmless rule may limit your premium increase. The tool does not apply that limit; it subtracts the premium you enter. People paying IRMAA are not covered by hold-harmless.
- Part D, Medicare Advantage and tax withholding. Other deductions from your check (Part D premiums, some Medicare Advantage premiums, voluntary federal tax withholding) are not modeled, and neither is a Part B late enrollment penalty; estimate one with the Medicare Late Enrollment Penalty Calculator.
- Family maximum and offsets. Benefits paid under the family maximum, or reduced by the earnings test, rise with the COLA too, but their own limits and offsets are not recomputed here.
- SSI. Supplemental Security Income uses its own rounding (the annual federal rate is increased, divided by 12 and rounded down to the dollar) and is reduced by countable income. Use SSA's SSI figures, not this tool.
- Future COLAs. Years after 2027 use the rate you enter. Nobody knows future CPI-W readings, so treat the projection as a scenario, not a forecast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will my Social Security check go up in 2027?
Social Security benefits rise 3.6 percent with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) effective for December 2026, which is paid in January 2027. Multiply your benefit by 1.036 and round down: Social Security rounds the increased amount down to the next lower 10 cents and the payable check down to the next lower whole dollar. A $1,900 benefit becomes $1,968, a $68 monthly raise or $816 a year. SSA estimates the average retired-worker benefit rises from $2,095 to $2,170 a month.
When will I see the 2027 COLA in my check?
The 3.6 percent increase begins with the benefit for December 2026, which Social Security pays in January 2027. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients see the increase sooner, in the payment made on December 31, 2026, because the January 1 payment date is a holiday. SSA says COLA notices will be available in the Message Center of most beneficiaries' my Social Security accounts in late November 2026.
How is the Social Security COLA calculated?
The COLA equals the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third-quarter average of the last year a COLA took effect to the third-quarter average of the current year, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. For 2027, SSA compared the July-September 2026 average of 328.746 with the July-September 2025 average of 317.265: (328.746 - 317.265) / 317.265 = 3.6 percent. If the index does not rise, there is no COLA, and benefits are never cut.
Will the Medicare Part B premium eat into my COLA?
Possibly. Most beneficiaries have the Part B premium deducted from their Social Security check, and the 2026 standard premium is $202.90 a month. CMS normally announces the next year's premium in the fall; as of October 19, 2026 the 2027 premium has not been published, so this calculator lets you enter it once it is. A hold-harmless rule in Social Security Act section 1839(f) stops a premium increase from reducing the net check below the prior year's for people who were entitled to benefits for November and December, whose premium was deducted from their benefits for December and January, and who do not pay an income-related surcharge (IRMAA).
Do I get the COLA if I have not started collecting yet?
Yes, from the year you turn 62. Social Security applies COLAs to your primary insurance amount starting with the COLA effective in December of your year of eligibility, whether or not you have claimed. Someone who turns 62 in 2026 receives the 3.6 percent increase on their PIA even if they wait until 70 to file. Before the eligibility year, your record is indexed to wages instead, not prices.
Can a COLA make more of my Social Security taxable?
It can. Under IRC section 86, up to 50 percent of benefits become taxable once provisional income passes $25,000 single or $32,000 married filing jointly, and up to 85 percent above $34,000 or $44,000. Those thresholds have never been indexed for inflation. A COLA raises your benefit, so half of the increase is added to provisional income; a retiree near a threshold can see a little more of the benefit become taxable even though their real purchasing power did not rise.
What to Do Next
Check Your Notice in Late November
SSA posts COLA notices in the my Social Security Message Center in late November 2026. Compare the new amount on the notice with this estimate, and use the exact PIA from the notice to rerun PIA mode next year.
Once CMS Publishes the 2027 Part B Premium
Enter it in the 2027 premium field to see your estimated net deposit before any hold-harmless adjustment. If you pay an income-related surcharge, estimate it with the IRMAA Calculator and add it to the premium.
Official Sources
- SSA - Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information for 2027 - The 3.6% COLA, January 2027 and December 31, 2026 payment timing, the $192,300 taxable maximum, the earnings-test limits, the late-November online notices, and the history of automatic COLAs since 1975.
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary - Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment - The CPI-W third-quarter averages (317.265 for 2025, 328.746 for 2026) and the computation rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.
- SSA - 2027 Social Security Changes (fact sheet) - Estimated average benefits before and after the COLA, the maximum benefit at full retirement age, SSI federal payment standards, and other 2027 amounts.
- Social Security Act §215 [42 U.S.C. 415] - Subsection (i): increased amounts decreased to the next lower multiple of $0.10. Subsection (g): monthly benefits, after the Medicare premium deduction, rounded to the next lower multiple of $1.
- Social Security Act §1839(f) [42 U.S.C. 1395r] - The hold-harmless limit on Part B premium increases for beneficiaries whose premium is deducted from their benefits.
- CMS - 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles - The $202.90 standard monthly Part B premium for 2026.
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary - Social Security Benefit Amounts - The first COLA a worker can receive is the one effective for December of the year of eligibility.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. It applies the 3.6% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment effective for December 2026 (payable January 2027) to the benefit or primary insurance amount you enter, rounds increased amounts down to the next lower $0.10 and payable benefits down to the next lower $1 after any Medicare Part B premium you enter, and projects later years with a COLA rate you choose as an assumption. It does not apply the Part B hold-harmless limit, IRMAA, Part D or Medicare Advantage premiums, tax withholding, the family maximum, the earnings test, or SSI rules. The 2027 Part B premium had not been published by CMS as of October 19, 2026. Your COLA notice from the Social Security Administration controls; consult a qualified professional before making claiming decisions.