Recipients will see a 2.8 percent boost, with some getting the adjusted payments on Dec. 31.
Social Security payments with 2026 adjustments will start being sent out this week, according to the agency’s schedule.
The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) will be applied to 2026 payments distributed this week. Recipients will see a 2.8 percent boost to their payments.
Payment Schedule for January
Those who also receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will receive their January 2026 payment on Dec. 31, due to Jan. 1 being a federal holiday, according to the agency. People who started receiving retirement, spousal, or survivor benefits before May 1997 will receive their first 2026 payment on Jan. 2.
People who receive both SSI and Social Security payments will receive their Social Security payments on the third of each month and their SSI payments on the first of each month.
For others who receive Social Security, payments will be sent on the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays of each month, depending on their birth date. For January, they will be sent on Jan. 14, Jan. 21, and Jan 28.
A number of recipients should have received a notice from the SSA about the COLA in December, the agency said. People could view their personal Social Security payment adjustments starting earlier this month, it said.
COLA Based on Inflation
Around 71 million people receive Social Security benefits, while another 7.5 million receive SSI benefits, according to the agency.
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, which is slated to increase to $184,500 in 2026, from $176,100 in 2025, the SSA has said.
Recipients received a 2.5 percent cost-of-living boost in 2025 and a 3.2 percent increase in their benefits in 2024, after a historically large 8.7 percent benefit increase in 2023, brought on by record 40-year-high inflation. The smaller increase for 2026 reflects moderating inflation.
The COLA is calculated based on inflation data for the third quarter—or the months of July, August, and September—of the prior year.
SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in a statement in October that the annual cost-of-living adjustment “is one way we are working to make sure benefits reflect today’s economic realities and continue to provide a foundation of security.”
Tax Deductions Coming
The Trump administration, as part of the Republicans’ tax and spending bill that was signed over the summer, gave tax relief to many seniors through a temporary tax deduction for seniors aged 65 and over, which applies to all income, not just Social Security.
Those who won’t be able to claim the deduction include the lowest-income seniors who already do not pay taxes on Social Security, those who choose to claim their benefits before they reach age 65, and those who receive more than a defined income threshold.
A news release issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) noted that the tax deduction for seniors is effective for 2025 through 2028, or roughly around the end of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Seniors will be able to claim an additional $6,000 deduction and still take the current standard deduction for seniors under existing tax law.
