· the social security cola brings a modest benefit increase for retirees — but rising costs may cancel out the gains for many americans. · the ssa has set a 2. 8% cost-of-living increase for social security benefits in 2026 , along with updates to wage index and program thresholds based on economic data. · with a key measure of inflation at 2. 8%, recipients could see a modest social security benefit increase in 2026. Lets take a look at why the 2026 cola is both good and bad news for social. Heres what to expect for 2026. Ai-generated content sometimes contains inaccurate or incomplete information. · the social security administration will announce the 2027 cola in october 2026 , based on how the cpi-w for july, august, and september 2026 compares to the same months in 2025. Click on a trending topic to learn more about it. Yahoo is using openai to generate summaries for this content. Heres what analysts expect. · the 2026 social security cost-of-living adjustment ( cola ) is here, and larger checks are arriving this month. Based on the increase in the consumer price index (cpi-w) from the third quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025, social security beneficiaries and supplemental security income (ssi) recipients will receive a 2. 8 percent cola for 2026. · starting in january 2026 , social security recipients can expect a 2. 8% boost to their monthly benefits. Theres no silver lining for retirees who will end up with a benefits increase thats.