{"id":354805,"date":"2025-12-17T22:40:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354805\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:40:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:40:08","slug":"big-changes-are-coming-to-social-security-in-2026-5-important-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354805\/","title":{"rendered":"Big changes are coming to Social Security in 2026: 5 important updates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly 70 million Americans<\/a> rely on Social Security to make ends meet. When benefit amounts change, it\u2019s crucial for recipients to understand how and why, so they can plan their monthly budgets.<\/p>\n

In 2026, big changes are coming to Social Security benefits \u2014 primarily driven by policy changes, cost of living adjustments<\/a> and increasing healthcare costs<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But these aren\u2019t the only areas to keep an eye on in the year ahead. <\/p>\n

Other areas of notable change include updates to the SSA\u2019s earnings test limit, payroll tax increases and a maximum benefit increases. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about the updates, and how they may affect you.<\/p>\n

Higher monthly benefits<\/p>\n

Every year, the Social Security Administration<\/a> calculates how inflation affects the cost of living and then adjusts benefits<\/p>\n

In October, the agency announced 2026 COLA is increasing 2.8% \u2014 representing an average $56 monthly increase. <\/p>\n

While nearly 71 million beneficiaries will see that increase come January, SSI recipients may see that increase as soon as Dec. 31. <\/p>\n

Rising Medicare costs will largely offset COLA<\/p>\n

Although Social Security checks are increasing, so are healthcare costs \u2014 including the standard monthly premium for Medicare, which often comes directly out of Social Security payments. <\/p>\n

In 2026, the standard premium for Medicare Part B will increase from $185 per month to $202.90 \u2014 nearly $18.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Part B deductible, which is what you pay before benefits kick in, will also increase by $26.<\/p>\n

According to Investopedia<\/a>, what looked like a \u201dmonthly boost,\u201d in COLA will shrink to about $39 after accounting for changes in the standard monthly premium.<\/p>\n

Payroll taxes<\/p>\n

The payroll maximum, or Social Security wage base, is the maximum earnings amount subjected to Social Security payroll tax. Earnings above that threshold are not taxed for Social Security. <\/p>\n

In 2026, the wage base increases from $176,100 to $184,500<\/a> \u2014 meaning more income is being subjected to Social Security taxes and high-income earners will pay more taxes. <\/p>\n

Earnings test limit<\/p>\n

Individuals collecting Social Security benefits before full retirement age, which is 67, can now earn up to $24,480 before their benefits are reduced<\/a> \u2014 up from $23,400 in 2025.<\/p>\n

This means if you earn more than $24,480, SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit.<\/p>\n

Those who reach full retirement age in 2026 have a higher limit of $65,160, up from $62,160, with benefits reduced at a slower rate until their birthday month. <\/p>\n

Once beneficiaries are at full retirement age for the entire year, there is no earnings limit, allowing them to work without affecting their Social Security payments.<\/p>\n

Maximum benefit<\/p>\n

In 2026, the maximum benefit <\/a>someone can receive from Social Security is increasing from $5,108 to $5,251.<\/p>\n

However, most recipients receive much less. <\/p>\n

According to Social Security data<\/a>, the average monthly benefit for retired workers sits at $2,013.32 as of November. <\/p>\n

Benefit amounts are based on when a worker retires and how much they earned. <\/p>\n

Those who earn more during their careers and retire later in life have higher maximum benefit amounts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 70 million Americans rely on Social Security to make ends meet. When benefit amounts change, it\u2019s crucial…\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-354805","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\/354805","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=354805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354805\/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=354805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}