Social Security 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment

Social Security recipients now have the second of three data points that will determine their cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2026.

A key gauge for inflation — the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (known as the CPI-W) — rose by 2.8 percent in August 2025 compared with one year ago, according to data released Sept. 11 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Annual COLAs are based on how much the CPI-W changes in the third quarter of the year — July, August and September — from the same period the previous year. The CPI-W rose by 2.5 percent in July compared with the previous year. The final COLA for 2026 will be announced in October.

A CPI-W of 2.8 percent for August suggests that Social Security recipients may see a modest bump in their Social Security payments starting in January 2026.

The final inflation number that goes into the COLA calculation will be released on Oct. 15, when the Social Security Administration will announce the COLA for 2026.

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