Social Security checks will rise 3.6% in 2027. What the raise is worth, what else changes, and the dates to know

Social Security benefits will rise 3.6% in 2027, the Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday, October 14. The adjustment applies to monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments for about 76 million Americans, according to the agency. Nearly 72 million people receive Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million receive SSI.

"Social Security will implement this cost-of-living adjustment for 76 million Americans," Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement quoted by ABC News. The agency estimates that retirement benefits will rise by about $75 a month on average starting in January. CBS News put the new average retirement payment at about $2,170 a month.

Why is the 2027 raise bigger than last year's?

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is set by formula. It tracks the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, known as CPI-W, and compares the average for July, August and September with the same three months a year earlier, as Fox Business noted. The announcement came the same morning the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose 3.7% over the year to September, driven in part by a 9% jump in gasoline prices that we covered in our September inflation report.

At 3.6%, the 2027 adjustment is the largest in four years. It follows 2.8% for 2026, 2.5% for 2025 and 3.2% for 2024, and it remains well below the 8.7% increase for 2023.

Advocates for older Americans welcomed the raise but said it does not fully catch up with prices. "While a 3.6% COLA is certainly welcome, it wouldn't necessarily restore the purchasing power seniors have already lost," Shannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League, told CBS News. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare told CBS News it favors adopting the CPI-E, an inflation measure designed for older Americans.

When does the new amount arrive?

• SSI recipients: the higher payment begins with the check dated December 31, 2026.
• Social Security beneficiaries: the increase starts with benefits paid in January 2027.
• Online notices: people with a personal my Social Security account can see their COLA notice in the account's Message Center starting in late November. The agency says an account must be created by November 18 to see the notice online.
• Mailed notices: people who have not opted for online-only notices receive a letter in December.

The notice is the document to check. It shows the gross benefit, the Medicare premium deducted and the net payment, which is the number that lands in a bank account.

What else changes for 2027?

The COLA triggers a set of automatic adjustments that matter to workers and employers as much as to retirees. The figures below come from the agency's Office of the Chief Actuary.

Source: Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary.

The payroll tax cap. Social Security payroll tax is collected only on earnings up to the contribution and benefit base, which rises $7,800 to $192,300. The same figure caps the earnings used to calculate benefits. Employers with highly paid staff, and self-employed people with high net earnings, will see Social Security tax apply to more of their 2027 income, so payroll budgets and estimated tax payments should reflect the new number.

The earnings test. People who claim benefits before full retirement age and keep working can have benefits temporarily withheld. In 2027, the agency withholds $1 for every $2 earned above $25,560. In the calendar year a person reaches full retirement age, it withholds $1 for every $3 above $67,920, counting only earnings in the months before that birthday. Earnings from the month you reach full retirement age onward do not count, according to the agency's earnings test page. Withheld months are not simply lost: after full retirement age, the agency says it will "recalculate your benefit amount to take into account any months you did not receive benefits," according to its retirement planner.

Disability thresholds. People receiving disability benefits can earn up to $1,770 a month in 2027, or $2,950 if they are blind, before earnings are generally treated as substantial gainful activity.

How Medicare could eat into the raise

Many beneficiaries have their Medicare Part B premium deducted directly from their Social Security payment. For 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, up $17.90 from 2025, HousingWire reported when the figure was released. The 2027 premium had not been announced when the COLA came out, and CBS News noted that it could absorb part of the increase. The Social Security Administration directs beneficiaries to Medicare.gov for 2027 Medicare changes.

Tyler End, a certified financial planner and chief executive of the retirement planning firm Retirable, told CBS News that health costs can take a significant share of the adjustment. Medicare's annual open enrollment runs through December 7, and our Medicare open enrollment guide explains what is changing in drug plans and Medicare Advantage for 2027.

The bigger picture: the trust fund

The raise lands as the program's long-term finances remain unresolved. CBS News reported that the trust fund that pays retirement benefits is projected to be depleted in 2032, after which incoming payroll taxes would cover only part of scheduled benefits, implying a cut of more than 20% unless Congress acts. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that the 3.6% COLA will add about $900 a year to the average retiree's benefit, according to Fox Business.

What to do now

1. Set up or check your online account. Create a my Social Security account by November 18 if you want to see your notice online in late November.
2. Wait for the net number. Budget from the net payment on your notice, after Medicare premiums, rather than from the 3.6% headline.
3. If you work and collect, compare your expected 2027 earnings with the new $25,560 or $67,920 limits so withholding does not come as a surprise.
4. If you run payroll, update the Social Security wage base to $192,300 for 2027 in your payroll system or with your provider.
5. Review Medicare choices before open enrollment closes on December 7.

Individual situations vary. People with questions about their own benefits can contact the Social Security Administration directly or speak with a financial advisor.