1. Your Benefits Go Up 2.8%—Starting January 2026

The Social Security Administration confirmed a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, affecting more than 71 million Social Security beneficiaries. The average retired worker will see their monthly check rise by approximately $56—bringing the average benefit from about $2,008 to roughly $2,064 per month.

The COLA is calculated each year using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which measures how much prices have risen for everyday goods. The 2026 figure is slightly higher than last year’s 2.5%, reflecting modest but continued inflation.

SSI recipients got theirs first—increased SSI payments began on December 31, 2025. For Social Security retirement beneficiaries, the higher amount appeared in January 2026 payments. If you receive both, you saw two separate adjustments.

You do not need to do anything to receive the increase. It is applied automatically. To see your exact new benefit amount, log into your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount.

By the numbers: Individual SSI maximum: up from $967 to $994/month. Couples SSI maximum: up from $1,450 to $1,491/month. SSDI recipients also receive the 2.8% increase, with exact amounts varying by individual earnings history.