Social Security 2026 COLA revised:A new forecast from The Senior Citizens League says people on Social Security might get a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment in 2026. This is a bit higher than last month’s 2.6% guess. The group gave the update on August 12 after seeing new inflation data for July. Inflation went up 0.2% in July, and the yearly number is also 2.7% higher than last year. This is much lower than the big inflation spikes during the COVID-19 years.
The final official COLA number will come out in October. That’s when the Social Security Administration looks at the average inflation for July, August, and September, and then compares it to the same months in 2024. This year, people got a 2.5% increase, so next year’s could be a little more, but still far below the huge jumps seen right after the pandemic, reported Marca.
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Many older Americans are waiting to see the number. Some are hopeful, but others worry it won’t be enough. Experts say the formula used to decide the COLA does not always match the real costs seniors face. Prices for housing, medical care, transport, and food are still high, and these make up most of older people’s spending.
If the 2.7% increase happens, the average benefit of $1,863.12 a month would go up by about $50, making it $1,913.42 starting in January 2026. July’s data matters a lot because it is the first month in the official COLA formula that uses a special index called the CPI-W, which is not exactly the same as the more common CPI-U.
Court Ruling in Trump’s Favor
In another news story linked to Social Security, a federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE. The court said DOGE can keep using certain federal data, like Social Security numbers and citizenship details. This decision came in a 2-1 vote, overturning a lower court order that had blocked access.
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The court said the groups that tried to stop DOGE probably couldn’t prove any privacy violations and might not even have the right to sue. DOGE, which was started by Trump and first run by Elon Musk, has been in charge of big cuts to federal jobs and spending.
