Current estimate3.4%
Using the official July and August 2026 CPI-W readings, and assuming September stays at August's level, the 2027 COLA would be 3.4%.
Estimate inputs July 2026 Consumer Price Index + August 2026 Consumer Price Index + Social Security Administration · as of 2026-09-26Estimate your 2027 benefit
Calculated privately in your browser. Your numbers are not sent or stored.
What do you want to know?
Six simple paths through the parts of Social Security that matter most.
Calculate retirement benefits
Estimate your monthly benefit from your earnings record with 35-year wage indexing and bend points.
Calculate my benefit How much?Estimate your benefit
See how a COLA could change your monthly and annual Social Security benefit.
Calculate my benefit Which age?Compare claiming ages
Compare estimated monthly and lifetime benefits at age 62, Full Retirement Age, and 70.
Compare claiming ages Working before FRA?Estimate the earnings test
See how 2026 wages or self-employment income may affect Social Security benefits before Full Retirement Age.
Estimate work deductions When?Find your payment date
Answer a few questions to find your next Social Security or SSI payment.
Find my payment What changed?Track the 2027 COLA
Follow published CPI-W data and see what remains before the official announcement.
Track changesWhen is my next payment?
Social Security payment dates normally follow your birthday. SSI and people receiving benefits before May 1997 follow different rules.
- No account or SSN needed
- 2026 and 2027 schedules
- Add dates to your calendar
2027 COLA milestones
Understand what changes your check
How Social Security COLA Is Calculated
The six CPI-W numbers behind every COLA, explained in plain English.
5 min read2027 trackerWhen Will the 2027 COLA Be Announced?
The CPI release schedule, what is known now, and what remains uncertain.
4 min readMedicareHow Medicare Part B Can Shrink Your COLA Raise
Why the headline increase and the money reaching your bank can differ.
6 min readMedicare protectionMedicare Hold-Harmless Rule: Who It Protects and How the Cap Works
When a Part B premium increase can be limited by a Social Security COLA—and when it cannot.
7 min readPayment rulesSSI vs. Social Security Payment Dates: Why the Schedules Differ
A plain-English map of first-of-month, third-of-month, and Wednesday payment schedules.
6 min readBirthday scheduleSocial Security Payment Schedule by Birthday
Find Social Security payment dates by birthday for this month and next, with separate dates for SSI and people paid on the 3rd.
3 min readEarly depositsWhy Social Security Payments Sometimes Arrive Early
Why a weekend or legal public holiday can move a scheduled benefit payment to an earlier date.
2 min readCPI-W measureWhy Social Security Uses CPI-W for COLA
Why CPI-W is the legal COLA measure, how SSA compares third-quarter averages, and why one month cannot determine the result.
2 min readClaiming decisionWhen to Claim Social Security: Timing, Trade-Offs, and Decision Factors
A structured framework to evaluate claiming at 62, Full Retirement Age, or 70 based on health, cash flow, taxes, and longevity.
6 min readBreak-even analysisSocial Security Break-Even Age: How It Works and What It Tells You
Learn how to calculate the crossover age between claiming early versus delaying Social Security, and how to use break-even analysis wisely.
5 min read62 vs FRAClaiming Social Security at 62 vs. Full Retirement Age (FRA)
Compare early claiming at 62 with waiting for your Full Retirement Age, including the exact reduction percentages and cumulative totals.
5 min readFRA vs 70Delaying Social Security from Full Retirement Age to Age 70
Understand how delayed retirement credits work, the guaranteed 8% annual boost, and why credits stop accruing after age 70.
5 min readWorking while claimingCan You Work While Collecting Social Security in 2026?
Rules, earnings limits, check withholding, and how withheld benefits are credited back at Full Retirement Age.
5 min read2026 limitsSocial Security Earnings Limit for 2026
Understand the 2026 annual limits: $24,480 if under FRA all year and $65,160 in the year you reach FRA.
4 min readGrace year ruleSocial Security First-Year Rule and Monthly Earnings Test
How the monthly earnings test protects your benefit checks in your first year of retirement, even if you earned over the annual limit.
5 min readCountable incomeWhat Income Counts Toward the Social Security Earnings Test?
A clear breakdown of countable wages and self-employment earnings versus excluded pensions, 401(k) withdrawals, and investments.
4 min readCalculation formulaHow Social Security Retirement Benefits Are Calculated
A complete walkthrough of the statutory formula: wage indexing, the top 35 years, AIME, and the 3-tier bend point formula.
6 min read35-year ruleThe Social Security 35-Year Rule: How Zeroes and Work History Shape Your Benefit
Why Social Security averages exactly 35 years of work, how missing years reduce your checks, and how working longer replaces lower earnings.
5 min readAIME vs PIAAIME vs. PIA: What Every Social Security Beneficiary Needs to Know
Understand the crucial difference between Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) and your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), and how progressive bend points link them.
5 min readWorking longerHow Continuing to Work Affects Your Social Security Benefits
Discover how working past age 62 or Full Retirement Age changes your 35-year earnings base, triggers statutory recomputations, and increases delayed retirement credits.
6 min readSources behind these numbers
Every important figure links back to the government publication that produced it.