Social Security, SSI Benefits Expected To Rise

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments for individuals with disabilities are likely to increase next year, a new projection shows.

Benefits are expected to jump 2.7% starting in January, according to a recent estimate from the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan group that advocates for seniors.

That would be more than the 2.5% rise that beneficiaries saw this year.

The increase stems from an automatic cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, that Social Security and SSI beneficiaries receive annually to account for inflation. COLA is based on third quarter results from the government’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers and The Senior Citizens League said its analysis relies on data collected through August.

If the estimate is right, next year’s COLA would be slightly higher than the 2.6% average over the last 20 years, the group said. In that time, COLA has ranged from zero in 2010 and 2011 to a high of 8.7% in 2023.

More than 7.4 million people, including many with disabilities, receive SSI each month. The maximum federal SSI benefit this year is $967 per month for individuals and $1,450 for couples, according to the Social Security Administration, though payments can be higher since some states add in extra.

The Social Security Administration is expected to officially announce what the COLA will be for 2026 next month.