Social Security benefits to rise 3.6 percent in 2027, agency announces

The Social Security Administration will raise monthly Social Security benefits by 3.6 percent beginning with benefits for December 2026, which are payable in January 2027, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday, 26 October 2026. The determination, issued under Docket No. SSA–2026–1024, also fixes the 2027 maximum taxable earnings base at $192,300 and the maximum federal Supplemental Security Income payment at $1,029 a month. The notice appears in Vol. 91, No. 205, at pages 67380 to 67385.

The adjustment is mandated by section 215(i) of the Social Security Act, which ties annual increases to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI–W) compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency computed the average index for the third quarter of 2025 at 317.265 and for the third quarter of 2026 at 328.746, a rise of 3.6 percent after rounding to the nearest tenth.

The increase was not capped by wage growth. Section 215(i) limits a December increase to the prior year’s national average wage index rise only when the combined OASDI fund ratio falls below 20.0 percent; for 2026 the ratio is 151.3 percent, based on reserves of $2,561,306 million against estimated program costs of $1,693,169 million.

A raise for existing beneficiaries only

The 3.6 percent applies to workers and family members whose eligibility — attainment of age 62, or disability or death before that age — occurred before 2027. Those first eligible in 2027 or later will not receive the increase, and their benefits will instead be computed from the new benefit formula.

The notice also republishes the revised “special minimum” benefit table for long-tenure, low-earning workers, which runs from $55.40 a month for 11 years of coverage to $1,164.10 for 30 years, with corresponding family maximums of $84.80 and $1,748.30.

SSI, veterans and student amounts

Because the same percentage applies to title XVI, federal SSI rates rise from $994 to $1,029 for an eligible individual, from $1,491 to $1,544 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and from $498 to $516 for an essential person. Other adjusted amounts for 2027:

• Special benefit for certain World War II veterans under title VIII: $771.75 a month.
• Student earned income exclusion: $2,500 a month, capped at $10,080 for the year.
• Representative payee fee limit: $59 a month, or $110 for beneficiaries with a disability and an alcoholism or drug addiction condition who cannot manage benefits.
• Assessment on directly paid representative and court-awarded fees: $128, effective December 2026.

Payroll cap, earnings test and disability thresholds

The 2025 national average wage index is $72,800.33, about 4.23 percent above the 2024 figure of $69,846.57. That index drives the amounts employers and self-employed workers will face next year:

• OASDI contribution and benefit base: $192,300, up from $184,500.
• Retirement earnings test: $2,130 a month ($25,560 a year) for beneficiaries reaching normal retirement age after 2027, and $5,660 a month ($67,920 a year) for those reaching it in 2027.
• Primary insurance amount bend points: $1,340 and $8,077.
• Family maximum bend points: $1,712, $2,471 and $3,223.
• Earnings for a quarter of coverage: $1,970.
• “Old-law” contribution and benefit base: $142,800.
• Substantial gainful activity: $2,950 a month for statutorily blind people and $1,770 for non-blind people with a determined disability.
• Trial work period threshold: $1,270 a month.
• Coverage thresholds: $3,100 for domestic workers and $2,700 for election officials and election workers.

Impact

The notice reaches every retiree, survivor and disability beneficiary already on the rolls, plus the roughly eight million people who receive federal SSI payments, and it resets the wage ceiling that determines how much of a salary is subject to Social Security payroll taxes in 2027. It was signed by Mark Steffensen, Chief of Law, Policy and Legislative Affairs and General Counsel of the agency, with technical inquiries directed to Kathleen K. Sutton of Actuarial Services in Baltimore.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 205, 26 October 2026, Notices, pp. 67380–67385 (official reference: 2026–21796; Docket No. SSA–2026–1024).