Social Security COLA 2027: Date, Time and Estimate
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be settled by the September inflation report, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time (12:30 UTC), per its release calendar. The Social Security Administration (SSA) announces the new percentage after that report, and it applies to benefits paid from January 2027.
Early estimates put the COLA between 3.4% and 3.6%, up from 2.8% for 2026.
When will the 2027 COLA be announced?
The COLA depends on September's CPI-W, the inflation measure for urban wage earners and clerical workers, so it is announced the day BLS publishes that report: Wednesday, Oct. 14, Fox Business confirms. The report comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is 7:30 a.m. Central, 6:30 a.m. Mountain and 5:30 a.m. Pacific. Last year SSA announced the COLA less than an hour after the CPI came out, Reuters reported.
The date should hold. Last year's September report was delayed by more than a week by the federal shutdown, and the 2026 COLA came on Friday, Oct. 24. This year Congress passed a stopgap bill that funds the government into early December, AP reported, so no shutdown is in the way.
What is the 2027 COLA estimate?
| Who | 2027 COLA estimate |
|---|---|
| Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget | 3.4% |
| The Senior Citizens League | 3.5% |
| AARP | 3.6% |
These estimates followed the August report, Fox Business reported on Sept. 21. Each combines the July and August readings with a guess for September, so they can still move. The Senior Citizens League says a 3.5% COLA would lift the average retirement benefit by $67.90 a month, from $1,940.08 to $2,007.98.
What September's CPI-W would need to be
The COLA is the percentage by which the average CPI-W for July, August and September beats the same three-month average a year earlier, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. July and August are already known, so only September is missing. By our count from BLS figures (CPI-W, not seasonally adjusted):
- Third quarter of 2025 averaged 317.265, from July 316.349, August 317.306 and September 318.139. That is the base for the 2027 COLA.
- 2026 so far: July 327.104, August 328.481.
If September comes in unchanged from August, the 2026 average is 328.022 and the COLA is 3.4%. This table shows what it would take to get more.
| COLA of at least | Sept. CPI-W at least | Change on August | 12-month rise |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3% | 327.145 | −0.41% | 2.83% |
| 3.4% | 328.096 | −0.12% | 3.13% |
| 3.5% | 329.047 | +0.17% | 3.43% |
| 3.6% | 329.998 | +0.46% | 3.73% |
| 3.7% | 330.952 | +0.75% | 4.03% |
| 3.8% | 331.903 | +1.04% | 4.33% |
The last column is the same September reading as a rise over September 2025, the way the news usually reports it. These are our own calculations, not an SSA forecast. SSA gives the official figure after BLS releases the data.
How much more will you get?
On a $2,000 monthly benefit, a 3.4% COLA adds $68 a month, 3.5% adds $70 and 3.6% adds $72. The higher payments start with benefits paid in January 2027, TNND reported. The 2026 increase was 2.8%.
Where to see the announcement
- BLS: the September report on the BLS CPI page, from 8:30 a.m. ET.
- SSA: the new percentage on the SSA COLA page after the announcement.
Figures and estimates are as published on Oct. 4, 2026. This page will be updated after the Oct. 14 announcement.
