{
  "id": "cola",
  "version": "8717bd5ffd30",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "COLA Calculator",
  "question": "What is my COLA raise?",
  "summary": "Raises a monthly Social Security or SSI benefit by each year’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) from SSA, from any year since 1984 to 2026, with an optional rate for later years.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "retirement",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/cola-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/cola-calculator.md",
  "kind": "schedule",
  "method": "New benefit = benefit × (1 + COLA₁) × (1 + COLA₂) × … for each COLA set from the start year to the year before the end year.",
  "assumptions": [
    "SSA sets each COLA in October, effective with December benefits, paid from January of the next year. A benefit paid in 2021 gets the COLAs set in 2021 to 2025 by 2026.",
    "Published COLAs from SSA for 1984 to 2025; later years use your assumed rate.",
    "SSA rounds a raised benefit down to the dime (and the payment down to the dollar); this page does not round, so SSA’s figure can be up to a few dollars lower.",
    "Medicare Part B premiums, taken out of many checks, are not included."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "benefit": {
        "title": "Monthly benefit",
        "description": "The monthly benefit before Medicare premiums, as paid in January of the start year.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "exclusiveMinimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000
      },
      "from": {
        "title": "Paid in (year)",
        "description": "The year the benefit above was paid, from 1984.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "1984",
          "1985",
          "1986",
          "1987",
          "1988",
          "1989",
          "1990",
          "1991",
          "1992",
          "1993",
          "1994",
          "1995",
          "1996",
          "1997",
          "1998",
          "1999",
          "2000",
          "2001",
          "2002",
          "2003",
          "2004",
          "2005",
          "2006",
          "2007",
          "2008",
          "2009",
          "2010",
          "2011",
          "2012",
          "2013",
          "2014",
          "2015",
          "2016",
          "2017",
          "2018",
          "2019",
          "2020",
          "2021",
          "2022",
          "2023",
          "2024",
          "2025",
          "2026"
        ]
      },
      "to": {
        "title": "Raise it to (year)",
        "description": "The year to find the benefit for. Each COLA is paid from January of the year after it is set.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "1984",
          "1985",
          "1986",
          "1987",
          "1988",
          "1989",
          "1990",
          "1991",
          "1992",
          "1993",
          "1994",
          "1995",
          "1996",
          "1997",
          "1998",
          "1999",
          "2000",
          "2001",
          "2002",
          "2003",
          "2004",
          "2005",
          "2006",
          "2007",
          "2008",
          "2009",
          "2010",
          "2011",
          "2012",
          "2013",
          "2014",
          "2015",
          "2016",
          "2017",
          "2018",
          "2019",
          "2020",
          "2021",
          "2022",
          "2023",
          "2024",
          "2025",
          "2026",
          "2027",
          "2028",
          "2029",
          "2030",
          "2031",
          "2032",
          "2033",
          "2034",
          "2035",
          "2036",
          "2037",
          "2038",
          "2039",
          "2040",
          "2041",
          "2042",
          "2043",
          "2044",
          "2045",
          "2046",
          "2047",
          "2048",
          "2049",
          "2050",
          "2051",
          "2052",
          "2053",
          "2054",
          "2055",
          "2056",
          "2057",
          "2058",
          "2059",
          "2060"
        ]
      },
      "future": {
        "title": "COLA for later years",
        "description": "A yearly COLA to assume after the last published one (2025, paid in 2026).",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 20
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "newBenefit": {
      "label": "Monthly benefit",
      "description": "The benefit after every COLA from the start year to the end year.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "increase": {
      "label": "Raise a month",
      "description": "New benefit minus the start benefit.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "percent": {
      "label": "Total raise",
      "description": "The combined increase of all the COLAs, in percent.",
      "format": "percent"
    },
    "colaCount": {
      "label": "COLAs applied",
      "description": "How many yearly COLAs were applied.",
      "format": "integer"
    },
    "yearly": {
      "label": "A year",
      "description": "The new monthly benefit times 12.",
      "format": "money"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "benefit": 2000,
      "from": "2021",
      "to": "2026"
    },
    "outputs": {
      "newBenefit": 2503.5264100944,
      "increase": 503.52641009440003,
      "percent": 25.176320504720007,
      "colaCount": 5,
      "yearly": 30042.3169211328
    },
    "text": "A monthly benefit of $2,000.00 paid in 2021 is $2,503.53 in 2026, 25.18% more."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "benefit": 1000,
        "from": "2025",
        "to": "2026"
      },
      "expect": {
        "newBenefit": 1028,
        "increase": 28,
        "colaCount": 1
      },
      "source": "SSA, Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment: 2.8% from December 2025 benefits, payable January 2026"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "benefit": 2000,
        "from": "2021",
        "to": "2026"
      },
      "expect": {
        "newBenefit": 2503.5264100944,
        "percent": 25.176320504720007
      },
      "source": "SSA COLA series (5.9%, 8.7%, 3.2%, 2.5%, 2.8% for 2021 to 2025); hand calculation in content.mdx: 2,000 × 1.059 × 1.087 × 1.032 × 1.025 × 1.028",
      "tolerance": 1e-12
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "benefit": 1500,
        "from": "2009",
        "to": "2011"
      },
      "expect": {
        "newBenefit": 1500,
        "percent": 0
      },
      "source": "SSA COLA series: no COLA for 2009 or 2010 (0.0%)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "benefit": 2000,
        "from": "2026",
        "to": "2028",
        "future": 2.5
      },
      "expect": {
        "newBenefit": 2101.25
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 2,000 × 1.025² with an assumed 2.5% COLA"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "Social Security Administration, Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA history since 1975): https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/colaseries.html",
    "Social Security Administration, Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment (2.8% for 2026, CPI-W computation): https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/latestCOLA.html"
  ],
  "related": [
    "social-security",
    "inflation",
    "ssi"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}