Forecasts Put 2027 Social Security COLA at About 3.5%

Overview

• Advocacy group The Senior Citizens League and other forecasters are converging on a roughly 3.5% cost‑of‑living adjustment for 2027, a mid‑range projection reported in recent coverage.
• Using the SSA’s latest average retired‑worker figure of $1,941.76, a 3.5% COLA would raise that typical benefit by about $68 to roughly $2,009.72 per month.
• The COLA is calculated from the average change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI‑W for July through September, and a late shift in those monthly readings — especially September’s — could still move the final percentage by tenths of a point.
• Higher Medicare Part B premiums, Income‑Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts and the taxability of benefits can substantially reduce beneficiaries’ net gains from any nominal COLA increase.
• Longer‑term financing questions for Social Security, including trustees’ projections of a trust‑fund shortfall by the early 2030s, keep policy debates alive over index changes and benefit rules that would affect retirees beyond next year’s adjustment.