Fixed Income

Social Security COLA for 2026

All 75 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries’ checks are going up 2.8 percent in 2026.
Social Security COLA for 2026
Why is this little esoteric government report—actually called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers—so popular? MZinchenko/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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In early October of every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its much-anticipated report on changes (usually increases) to the Consumer Price Index over the past 12 months. (It was a little late this year due to the government shutdown.) Why is this little esoteric government report—actually called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers—so popular? Because for the past 50 years, it’s been the report that determines the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that Social Security beneficiaries will get the following year.

Because my column has a long lead time, what I am reporting here isn’t news to most of my readers. As I’m sure you already heard, all 75 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries’ checks are going up 2.8 percent in 2026.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]