If You Get $2,000 Per Month From Social Security, Here's How Much Your Checks Will Go Up With the 2026 COLA

Here's what you should expect from Social Security, starting in January.

The 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, will take effect with the payment that beneficiaries receive in January, and is designed to help retirees, their spouses, disabled individuals, and other beneficiaries keep up with the rising costs of goods and services.

To be clear, we don't know for a fact what the 2026 Social Security COLA will be just yet. That announcement won't come until mid-October, after September's inflation data is released.

However, we have a pretty good idea of what it will be. The Social Security COLA is based on third quarter consumer price index (CPI) data, and we already have the numbers for July and August.

Based on what we know so far and the expected September infla