Social Security Administration announces 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment

(The Hill) -- Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will rise 2.8 percent in 2026 after the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the federal government announced Friday.

The Social Security Administration announced the 2026 COLA as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the September consumer price index (CPI) report. The CPI report, which tracks inflation, had been delayed due to the government shutdown.

But the Trump administration brought back enough BLS staffers to calculate the report, which is essential to determining the COLA for Social Security benefits.

Annual inflation rose to 3 percent in September, up from 2.9 percent in August, with prices rising 0.3 percent last month alone. While both annual and monthly inflation were slightly lower than Wall Street expectations of 3.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, the CPI report marked the highest annual price growth since January 2025.

In a Friday statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted the inflation report coming in slightly lower than expectations, calling it “good news for American families.”

Even so, the report showed sharp price increases in areas heavily affected by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, one of the drivers of higher inflation this year.

Food prices were up 3.1 percent on the year, with beef prices up almost 15 percent. Trump has locked horns with U.S. beef producers and their allies in Congress, who are furious over the president’s plan to import beef from Argentina to bring down domestic prices.

Electricity prices were up 5.1 percent, with piped gas service up 11.7 percent. Higher food and energy costs are particularly hard for those with fixed incomes to manage, particularly as colder weather arrives with autumn.