About 72 million recipients to see increases beginning in January
The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that benefit and Supplemental Security Income payments will increase by 3.6% in 2027, the largest cost-of-living adjustment since 2023. About 72 million recipients will see increases in their benefit payments starting next year, the agency said.
The increase translates to an average rise of about $75 per month for retired workers, beginning in January. “On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $75 per month starting in January,” the Social Security Administration said in its announcement.
About 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income will begin seeing increased payments starting on Dec. 31, according to the agency.
Beneficiaries can view their cost-of-living adjustment notices on their my Social Security accounts in late November. Those who do not have an account must create one by Nov. 18 to view their notice, the agency said.
The Social Security Administration is also implementing other adjustments beginning in January to reflect increases in average wages. Those adjustments include a change to the maximum earnings subject to Social Security tax, increasing from $184,000 to $192,000.
The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment was 2.8%. The adjustments in 2022 and 2023 were among the biggest in the program’s history, at 5.9% and 8.7% respectively. The smallest increases include 0% adjustments in 2010, 2011 and 2016, a 0.3% increase in 2017, a 1.6% increase in 2020, and a 1.3% increase in 2021.
In a survey by AARP published Monday, about 76% of respondents said that a 3.5% increase in benefits would not be enough — a level that was the projection at the time the survey was conducted. Respondents to the survey were age 50 or older.
AARP noted that 40% of Social Security beneficiaries who are 65 or older draw at least half of their income from the program.