{"id":201609,"date":"2025-10-09T23:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T23:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/201609\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T23:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T23:52:08","slug":"social-security-cola-2026-these-10-states-will-get-the-largest-raises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/201609\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security COLA 2026: These 10 states will get the largest raises"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly 74 million Americans<\/a> rely on Social Security<\/a> benefits to survive \u2014 and for those who do, knowing what the Social Security Administration determines the cost of living adjustment to be for that year is a big deal. <\/p>\n

It allows recipients to budget and plan for the year ahead. <\/p>\n

According to the Social Security Administration<\/a>, the actual COLA increase is determined by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)<\/a> from July to September of the calendar year.<\/p>\n

Because the increase is based on inflation, existing benefit amounts, and lifetime earnings, what that increase looks like varies between people and by state. <\/p>\n

Read more: The Old Farmer\u2019s Almanac Thanksgiving weather prediction: Map of what to expect<\/a><\/p>\n

Retirees living in the 10 states with the highest Social Security benefits will see the largest COLA thanks to a percentage system. <\/p>\n

According to The Motley Fool<\/a>, based on Social Security Administration\u2019s Annual Statistical Supplement data<\/a> the highest median Social Security benefits for retired workers include:<\/p>\n

New Jersey: $2,172Connecticut: $2,159Delaware: $2,139New Hampshire: $2,121Maryland: $2,084Michigan: $2,067Washington: $2,061Minnesota: $2,053Massachusetts: $2,021Indiana: $2,016<\/p>\n

Benefits are determined using a formula that accounts for lifetime earnings, so in states where the cost of living and income are higher, that percentage and benefit amount will be too. <\/p>\n

The official COLA increase for 2026 was scheduled to be announced Oct. 15<\/a>, but because of the government shutdown<\/a>, that announcement may be delayed.<\/p>\n

Read more: Hulu shutting down after Disney\u2019s $8B takeover<\/a><\/p>\n

While we don\u2019t know when those numbers will be officially announced, we do have a pretty good idea of what they might look like based on the calculation the Social Security Administration uses to determine the increase.<\/p>\n

Using this calculation, bipartisan group The Senior Citizens League<\/a> predicts the increase will be about 2.7%, which is slightly up from 2025\u2019s increase of 2.5%.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a historical perspective, the predicted 2026 COLA would rank 29th among the COLAs implemented since 1977, which was the first year that the SSA began calculating COLAs based on the CPI-W,\u201d TSCL wrote in a release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last COLA, implemented in 2025, currently ranks 33rd.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: Beloved retail chains continue closing stores nationwide, hundreds face layoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

A 2.7% COLA would result in about an extra $54 per month for the average retired worker, increasing the monthly benefit from $2,008 to $2,062.<\/p>\n

While the COLA increase is semi-predictable, the government shutdown complicates other moving parts essential to keeping the Social Security Administration running smoothly and serving beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Prior to the shutdown, the Social Security Administration created a contingency plan<\/a> indicating it would retain approximately 45,000 (90%) of its workforce during the shutdown, while furloughing roughly 6,200 employees.<\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 74 million Americans rely on Social Security benefits to survive \u2014 and for those who do, knowing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,184,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-201609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}