# What is my COLA raise?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/cola-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/cola-calculator.json
- Version: 8717bd5ffd30

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Monthly benefit $2,000.00, Paid in (year) 2021, Raise it to (year) 2026): A monthly benefit of $2,000.00 paid in 2021 is $2,503.53 in 2026, 25.18% more.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| benefit | Monthly benefit | The monthly benefit before Medicare premiums, as paid in January of the start year. |
| from | Paid in (year) | The year the benefit above was paid, from 1984. |
| to | Raise it to (year) | The year to find the benefit for. Each COLA is paid from January of the year after it is set. |
| future | COLA for later years | A yearly COLA to assume after the last published one (2025, paid in 2026). |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| newBenefit | Monthly benefit | The benefit after every COLA from the start year to the end year. |
| increase | Raise a month | New benefit minus the start benefit. |
| percent | Total raise | The combined increase of all the COLAs, in percent. |
| colaCount | COLAs applied | How many yearly COLAs were applied. |
| yearly | A year | The new monthly benefit times 12. |

## 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.

## Worked examples

1. benefit = $1,000.00, from = 2025, to = 2026 gives newBenefit = $1,028.00, increase = $28.00, colaCount = 1. Source: SSA, Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment: 2.8% from December 2025 benefits, payable January 2026.
2. benefit = $2,000.00, from = 2021, to = 2026 gives newBenefit = $2,503.53, percent = 25.176321%. Source: SSA COLA series (5.9%, 8.7%, 3.2%, 2.5%, 2.8% for 2021 to 2025).
3. benefit = $1,500.00, from = 2009, to = 2011 gives newBenefit = $1,500.00, percent = 0%. Source: SSA COLA series: no COLA for 2009 or 2010 (0.0%).
4. benefit = $2,000.00, from = 2026, to = 2028, future = 2.5% gives newBenefit = $2,101.25.

## FAQ

### What is the Social Security COLA for 2026?

The COLA is 2.8%. It applies to benefits for December 2025, paid in January 2026. SSI payments rose 2.8% in January 2026 too. A $2,000 benefit became $2,056.

### How is the COLA calculated?

SSA compares the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for July to September with the same average in the last year a COLA was paid, and rounds the increase to the nearest 0.1%. For 2026 that was (317.265 − 308.729) ÷ 308.729 = 2.8%.

### When is the next COLA announced?

SSA announces each COLA in October, after the September CPI-W is published. The COLA for 2027 will be set in October 2026. Until then you can enter an assumed rate for later years.

### Why is my check smaller than this?

Medicare Part B premiums are usually taken out of the check, and they often rise in January too. SSA also rounds the raised benefit down to the dime and the payment down to the whole dollar each year.

### Were there years with no COLA?

Yes. There was no COLA for 2009, 2010 and 2015 (paid in 2010, 2011 and 2016), because prices fell or did not rise between the measured quarters.

## 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