If you’re enjoying retirement and receiving Social Security benefits, mark your calendar for October 15, 2025. This is an important day that all Social Security retirees should be aware of, as it’s the date the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the inflation data needed for the 2026 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).
What Is the Significance of October 15?
The Social Security COLA is an annual adjustment made to benefits to help protect retirees from inflation. The COLA is determined based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) doesn’t calculate the COLA using full-year CPI-W statistics. Instead, it compares the CPI-W numbers from the third quarter of the current year with those from the same period in the previous year.
On October 15, the BLS will release September’s inflation data, which will give the SSA the final information it needs to calculate the COLA for 2026.
When Will You Know the COLA?
Once the BLS releases the data at 8:30 a.m. ET on October 15, the SSA will quickly process the numbers and announce the COLA increase for 2026 shortly afterward.
You can find the official COLA announcement on the SSA’s Communications Corner webpage. This will be accompanied by a press release with the exact percentage increase for Social Security benefits in 2026.
While the SSA’s website is the official source, news outlets like The Motley Fool will quickly report on the new COLA, so you’ll also hear about it through various news sources on the same day.
What Should You Expect for 2026?
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonprofit organization advocating for seniors, projects a 2.7% increase in the 2026 Social Security COLA, based on the latest data. This would be a slight increase from the 2.5% COLA for 2025 and above the 2.6% average increase in the 21st century.
However, keep in mind that not all of this increase will end up in your bank account. Medicare Part B premiums, which are deducted from Social Security benefits, are expected to rise by 11.6% in 2026. This could offset nearly 40% of the 2.7% COLA for retirees with average benefits.
Plan Ahead for Potential Premium Increases
While the projected COLA increase will help, the higher Medicare premiums may reduce the actual financial benefit. Retirees should be prepared for the possibility of these increases and plan their finances accordingly to offset the impact on their monthly budget.
