Home / Business and Economy / Inflation Data Hints at Smaller Social Security Raise
Inflation Data Hints at Smaller Social Security Raise
14 Feb
Summary
- January inflation data suggests 2027 COLA may be small.
- Previous COLAs were record highs, but have decreased.
- 2026 COLA was 2.8%, adding $56 monthly on average.
New government inflation data released for January indicates that the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits in 2027 may be considerably smaller. Social Security benefits are typically adjusted each year to account for inflation. Beneficiaries experienced substantial COLAs in 2022 and 2023, which reached 5.9% and 8.7% respectively. However, as inflation has slowed, the size of these annual increases has also decreased. The COLA for 2026 was 2.8%, adding an average of $56 to monthly retirement benefits. In some cases, rising Medicare premiums have offset these increases. The latest January data suggests that if inflation rates persist, the 2027 COLA could be even lower than the 2026 adjustment.
