Social Security recipients to get 3.6% cost of living boost, an average of $75 per month

Social Security recipients to obtain 3.6%.

Key points

• DC Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press, Fatima Hussein, Associated Press June 26, 2026.
• This adjustment means $75 extra per month for the almost 72 million Social Security beneficiaries and concerning 7.3 million Supplemental Security Income recipients.
• Trump administration to remove 760, 000 Affordable Care Act enrollees over fraud claims.
• Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in June proposed lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap.
• Commissioner Chris Brown is working to establish a partnership between the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University to pursue a nuclear research reactor.

Social Security recipients to obtain 3.6% cost of living boost, an average of $75 per month. By: Fatima Hussein, Associated Press – October 14, 2026.

FILE – A Social Security card is displayed on Oct. 12, 2021, in Tigard, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File).

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Social Security Administration projected Wednesday that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and individuals with disabilities will go up by 3.6% beginning in 2027, with some recipients complaining that is not enough to offset soaring costs.

For context, the adjustment translates to $75 extra per month for the almost 72 million residents who receive monthly Social Security benefits and regarding 7.3 million beneficiaries who secure Supplemental Security Income.

For context, the announcement comes as inflation adds pressure on household budgets and businesses and as midterm elections are weeks away.

Meanwhile, the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees and disabled beneficiaries is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers, up to a certain annual salary. That is due to growth to $192, 300 in 2027, from $184, 500 in 2026.

Meanwhile, the agency's commissioner, Frank Bisignano, remarked in an official note that the adjustment will provide recipients "greater financial stability." Older adults feel the bite of rising costs.

Some older adults feel the growth is a drop in the bucket as inflation has eaten away at monthly savings. The administration noted last month that inflation accelerated in August as gas rates spiked after renewed fighting between the United States and Iran.

Lorrie Ufkin, a 71-year-old retiree who lives outside Rochester, Minnesota, remarked the COLA will not put a dent in her healthcare costs. It are set to rise after the Trump administration concludes at year's end a temporary Medicare Part D subsidy program that has supported offset premiums. According to Ufkin, her premiums and drug cost are anticipated to rise, although the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has projected a modest growth for most residents.

For context, the COLA "doesn't even meet what they're going to do for changes to Medicare, " she informed The Associated Press.

After Republican administration changes produced to older Americans' healthcare programs, she remarked one of the medications both she and her husband take will go from $11 per month for each prescription, to $200 per month. According to She, was "catastrophic."

Senior advocacy groups say the COLA is a solid reminder of the financial straits of numerous older individuals.

"There's a lot on the line financially right now for older Americans – one in five have no retirement savings, and more individuals feel financially insecure this year than last. That makes Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment critically significant, " stated AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan.

Jaime Jakubczak, a 68-year-old resident of Buffalo, New York who retired early at 55, has lately gone back to work to produce ends meet, specifically to afford rising property taxes. He remarked the COLA is insufficient as it is offset by high inflation and a proposed 3.9% property tax growth in his town.

Jakubczak called the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment "a pittance, " given how high food, healthcare and gasoline rates have become nationwide.

"We were getting ahead a little bit with the COLA based on inflation, but the inflation is so high that it doesn't offset what our COLA allowance is, " he remarked.

Most older adults believe the COLA isn't adequately keeping up with inflation, according to an AARP poll from September. That poll discovered that concerning three-quarters of those 50 or older disagreed with the idea that a 3.5% COLA in 2027 would be enough to keep up with rising rates. Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall.

Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration faces a looming bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress.

Meanwhile, the June 2026 Social Security and Medicare trustees' report states that Social Security's combined trust funds – which cover old age and disability recipients – will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover regarding 83% of scheduled benefits.

While a permanent solution for shoring up the benefits program has not been passed into law, lawmakers on the Hill have pressed new measures to replenish the trust funds.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in June proposed lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap. It is a maximum amount of earnings taxable. Treating all income the same "would generate substantial revenue that would extend the solvency of Social Security for another generation, " they wrote in The New York Times.

For context, the move is controversial since Republicans have traditionally criticized calls to raise taxes on the wealthy.

In practice, the Peterson Foundation estimates that lifting the payroll tax cap would add roughly $3 trillion into the program over the next 10 years.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations signed into law new benefits for retirees. It boosted their finances, but simultaneously accelerated the insolvency of the old-age benefits program.

For context, the Trump administration, as part of Republicans' tax and spending bill, offered a temporary tax deduction for residents 65 and over. It applies to all income – not just Social Security. But those who aren't able to claim the deduction include the lowest-income older adults who already don't pay taxes on Social Security, those who choose to claim their benefits before they reach 65 and those above a defined income threshold.

Additionally, Democratic President Joe Biden in 2024 repealed two federal policies – the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Administration Pension Offset – that previously limited Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million residents, including largely former public workers. Regarding the Author(s). Fatima Hussein, Associated Press. News Cass Rutledge October 14, 2026.

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In short, social Security recipients to get 3.6% cost of living boost, an average is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.