2027 Social Security COLA: 3.6% — What It Changes in Your Plan
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 3.6%. Benefits rise with the payment for December 2026, which arrives in January 2027. The Social Security Administration announced the increase on October 14, 2026.
This page covers the figures for 2027. For how Social Security timing works in any year, see when to claim Social Security. Every 2027 change is on one page.
- Social Security and SSI benefits rise 3.6% for 2027, up from 2.8% for 2026.
- A COLA keeps a benefit in step with prices; it isn't a raise in what the benefit buys. The app already grows your Social Security with inflation every year, so a plan entered in today's dollars barely changes.
- What does change: your monthly figure if you already collect, the Medicare Part B premium taken out of the check, and the earnings limit if you work while collecting before full retirement age.
How much is the 2027 Social Security increase?
| Figure | 2026 | 2027 | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) | 2.8% | 3.6% | Everyone receiving benefits |
| Earnings limit, under full retirement age | $24,480 | $25,560 | Working while collecting early |
| Maximum earnings taxed for Social Security | $184,500 | $192,300 | Higher earners still working |
| Medicare Part B standard premium | $202.90/mo | Expected November | Everyone on Medicare |
Sources: Social Security Administration, 2027 COLA fact sheet (October 14, 2026). Medicare premium: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced separately each November. The app moves to the 2027 figures in the January 2027 update. We check these publications every week: how the numbers stay current.
Does the COLA change my retirement plan?
Usually very little. When you enter your Social Security estimate in the app, it's in today's dollars, the way ssa.gov shows it. The app then raises that benefit every year by inflation, which is what the COLA does in real life. A 3.6% COLA is that assumption showing up on schedule.
What changes a plan is the COLA and the prices you pay drifting apart for years. Social Security measures prices with an index built around working households, and healthcare often rises faster than that. The app's inflation setting and its high-inflation stress test cover that gap. The COLA announcement doesn't.
What actually changes
If you already collect Social Security
Your check goes up, and your plan should start from the new number. A $2,400 monthly benefit becomes $2,486 in January. Your notice arrives in early December, and the amount is in your my Social Security account. Enter it as your current monthly benefit in the app.
Will Medicare take part of the raise?
Possibly. Most people on Medicare have the Part B premium deducted from their Social Security. If the premium rises faster than the COLA, part of the raise never reaches your bank account. Medicare announces the 2027 premium in November; we'll add it here. If your income two years ago was high, an income surcharge (IRMAA) is added on top.
If you work while collecting before full retirement age
Social Security holds back $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above the limit. Take someone collecting at 63 who earns $40,000. In 2026, $7,760 of benefits is held back. In 2027, with the limit at $25,560, it's $7,220. Withheld benefits aren't gone: Social Security raises your check at full retirement age to account for them. The app models this as claiming a little later.
What to do in the app
- Already collecting: in Inputs, under Social Security, update your current monthly benefit to the figure on your January notice.
- Not collecting yet: nothing to change. Your estimate is in today's dollars, and the app adds inflation each year.
- Everyone: the app's own figures, including the earnings limit and Medicare premium, move to 2027 in the January 2027 update. You don't need to change any of them.
Common questions
Update your Social Security in your own plan. The app is free to use, needs no account, and nothing leaves your browser.
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