Social Security COLA 2027: 3.6% Raise & New SSI Amounts

The Social Security Administration made it official on October 26, 2026: Social Security and SSI payments go up 3.6 percent for 2027. If you live on these checks, you probably want three answers fast — how much, when, and whether the raise will cost you something else, like food stamps or Medicaid.

This guide puts the 2026 and 2027 numbers side by side, explains the payment dates, and walks through the rules that decide what happens to your other benefits. Every number comes from Social Security’s own notice in the Federal Register or its COLA fact sheet.

This guide applies to the whole U.S. and covers the 2027 amounts, with 2026 amounts for comparison. State SSI supplements and state Medicaid and SNAP rules vary.

The Short Answer

• The raise is 3.6%. Social Security says it reaches “76 million Americans” — Social Security and SSI together.
• SSI goes from $994 to $1,029 a month for one person and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple.
• SSI’s higher payment arrives December 31, 2026. That is your January money, paid early because of the holiday.
• Social Security’s higher payment arrives in January 2027.
• The SSI savings limit does not change: $2,000 for one person, $3,000 for a couple.
• SNAP usually adjusts on its own — you normally do not have to report the raise.
• If the raise ends your SSI, a federal rule can keep your Medicaid.

2026 vs. 2027: The Numbers

What	2026	2027
SSI federal maximum, one person	$994/mo.	$1,029/mo.
SSI federal maximum, eligible couple	$1,491/mo.	$1,544/mo.
SSI resource (savings) limit, one person / couple	$2,000 / $3,000	$2,000 / $3,000 (no change)
Average retired worker (estimate)	$2,095/mo. before the COLA	$2,170/mo. after the COLA
Average aged couple, both on benefits (estimate)	$3,238/mo.	$3,355/mo.
Average disabled worker (estimate)	$1,642/mo.	$1,701/mo.
Earnings limit, under full retirement age all year	$24,480/yr.	$25,560/yr.
Earnings limit, the year you reach full retirement age	$65,160/yr.	$67,920/yr.
Substantial gainful activity (SGA), not blind	$1,690/mo.	$1,770/mo.
Substantial gainful activity (SGA), blind	$2,830/mo.	$2,950/mo.
Trial work period month	$1,210/mo.	$1,270/mo.

Sources: SSA’s 2027 COLA fact sheet and the Federal Register notices for 2027 and 2026. The “average” rows are Social Security’s estimates for January 2027 — your own amount depends on your work record.

Two things the table does not show:

• A couple’s SSI is split in half. The notice says Social Security will “equally divide the amount payable between the two spouses.” So the $1,544 couple maximum is paid as up to $772 to each spouse.
• Not everyone gets the 3.6%. Social Security’s notice says that for people first eligible after 2026 (for retirement, that usually means turning 62 in 2027), “the 3.6 percent increase will not apply.” Their benefit is figured with the 2027 formula instead.

When the Money Arrives

Payment	Date the higher amount arrives
SSI	December 31, 2026 (this is the January 2027 payment)
Social Security	January 2027, on your usual payment day (this is the December 2026 benefit)

Why SSI comes on New Year’s Eve. SSI is normally paid on the 1st of the month. Federal rule 20 CFR 416.502 says that when the 1st falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the payment comes on the business day before. January 1 is a holiday, so the January 2027 payment — already at the new $1,029 rate — lands on December 31, 2026.

That means you will see two SSI deposits in December (the regular December 1 payment and the early January one) and none in January. The second December deposit is not a bonus. Plan for it to cover January.

Your notice. Social Security says COLA notices will be in the Message Center of most people’s my Social Security account in late November 2026, if the account was created by November 18, 2026. If you have Medicare, the notice shows your new amount after Medicare premiums. Social Security says Medicare’s 2027 changes will be posted on medicare.gov.

What the Raise Means for SSI

SSI is a ceiling, not a set payment. Social Security starts at the maximum and subtracts your countable income. If your only other income is Social Security, the first $20 of it is ignored under 20 CFR 416.1124(c)(12). So:

2027 SSI = $1,029 − (your Social Security − $20)

That puts your combined federal total at $1,049 a month in 2027 ($1,029 + $20), up from $1,014 in 2026 ($994 + $20). This is our math from the official numbers. For the full step-by-step, see SSI and Social Security at the same time.

The $20 does not get a raise. It is a fixed number in the regulation. The SSI maximum rises by 3.6%, but the $20 stays $20. For most people this makes no difference. But if your Social Security alone was just under the old $1,014 cut-off, a 3.6% raise on your Social Security can push it past the new $1,049 cut-off. Then your federal SSI stops, even though your total income went up only slightly. (If your state pays an SSI supplement, its own limit may be higher.) If this happens to you, read the Medicaid section below before you do anything else.

The savings limit does not move. SSI’s resource limit is still $2,000 for one person and $3,000 for a couple. Those numbers are written into 20 CFR 416.1205 and have been the same since January 1, 1989. The COLA cannot change them. More on SSI income and savings rules in our SSI income limits guide.

If the Raise Ends Your SSI: Medicaid Can Continue

If your state gives Medicaid to people on SSI, losing SSI can feel like losing health coverage, too. A federal rule protects people in exactly this spot.

42 CFR 435.135 says that if a state gives Medicaid to people on SSI, it “must provide Medicaid” to people who:

1. Are receiving Social Security,
2. Got SSI (or a state supplement) and then lost it, and
3. “Would still be eligible for SSI or State supplements if the amount of OASDI cost-of-living increases … were deducted from current OASDI benefits.”

In plain words: if the only reason you are over the SSI limit is Social Security’s cost-of-living raises, your state must look at your income without those raises when it decides your Medicaid. The rule also counts raises paid to a spouse or other family member whose income is counted with yours.

What to do: if you get a notice ending your Medicaid after your SSI stops, call your state Medicaid office, say your SSI ended because of the Social Security cost-of-living increase, and ask to be checked under 42 CFR 435.135. See our Medicaid guide for how to reach your state.

What the Raise Means for SNAP (Food Stamps)

Social Security and SSI count as income for SNAP. So when they go up, your SNAP benefit may go down a little. Here is what the federal rule, 7 CFR 273.12(e)(3), says about it:

• The state handles it as a “mass change.” States must set up a way to apply Social Security and SSI cost-of-living raises to everyone’s case at once.
• You usually do not have to report it. If your state does not ask for it on a monthly report, “households … shall not be responsible for reporting these changes.”
• There is a deadline. The change must be reflected “no later than the second allotment issued after the month in which the change becomes effective.” So the new SNAP amount may not show up right away.
• You keep your hearing rights. The state’s notice about a mass change must tell you about “the household’s right to a fair hearing.”

Seniors: check your medical deduction. If someone in your household is elderly or disabled, SNAP rule 7 CFR 273.9(d)(3) lets the state subtract their medical costs over $35 a month — and Medicare premiums count. If your Medicare costs change in 2027, tell SNAP. See our guide to the SNAP medical expense deduction. SNAP’s own yearly numbers changed on October 1, 2026 — see SNAP changes for October 2026.

What the Raise Means for the Medicare Savings Program (QMB)

The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program pays Medicare premiums and cost-sharing for people with low income. Its income limit is tied to the federal poverty line, which is updated once a year — the 2026 update was published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2026, after that year’s January COLA.

To keep the COLA from knocking people off QMB in those early months, federal law (42 U.S.C. 1396d(p)(2)(D)) says the COLA does not count toward QMB income during each “transition month” — every month of the year “through the month following the month in which the annual revision of the official poverty line … is published.” After that, your new Social Security amount is compared with the new, higher poverty-line limit.

This rule is written for QMB. If you are in another Medicare Savings Program level, ask your state Medicaid office how it treats the COLA. More in our Medicare Savings Programs guide, and free one-on-one help is available through your state’s SHIP Medicare counseling program.

If You Work While Getting Benefits

Most of the “work” numbers rise for 2027 because they follow national wages, not prices:

• Under full retirement age all year: Social Security holds back $1 for every $2 you earn above $25,560.
• The year you reach full retirement age: $1 for every $3 above $67,920, counting only the months before your birthday month.
• Once you reach full retirement age: Social Security says there is no limit on earnings.
• Disability (SSDI or SSI): earnings above $1,770 a month ($2,950 if you are blind) are generally treated as substantial work, and a month with earnings over $1,270 counts toward the SSDI trial work period.

Your 2027 COLA Checklist

• Set up or sign in to my Social Security by November 18, 2026, to see your notice online in late November.
• Read your COLA notice when it comes. Write down your new gross amount and the amount after any Medicare premium.
• On SSI? Expect two deposits in December (December 1 and December 31) and none in January. Budget the December 31 deposit for January.
• Watch your savings on SSI. The $2,000 / $3,000 limits did not rise with the COLA.
• On SNAP? You usually do not need to report the COLA. Check your SNAP amount for the next couple of months, and ask for a fair hearing if it looks wrong.
• Lost SSI because of the raise? Ask your state Medicaid office to check you under 42 CFR 435.135 before your Medicaid ends.
• On QMB? Ask your state whether your case is being reviewed with the new poverty line.
• Got a letter saying you were overpaid? See what to do about an SSI overpayment.
• Watch for scams. Social Security says its services are free and it will not ask for gift cards or wire transfers.

How We Checked This

We opened and read every source below ourselves on October 27, 2026.

• Social Security’s Federal Register notice for 2027 (91 FR 67380, published October 26, 2026). We read the full text: the 3.6% increase, the SSI amounts and how they are rounded, the December 31 SSI payment date, the equal split for couples, the “first eligible after 2026” rule, and the earnings-test, SGA and trial-work amounts.
• The 2026 Federal Register notice (90 FR 49047), for the 2026 comparison column.
• SSA’s COLA page and 2027 fact sheet, for the average-benefit estimates, the unchanged SSI resource limits, and the notice dates. SSA’s site blocks automated reading, so we read these pages in a web browser.
• eCFR, the official online Code of Federal Regulations: 20 CFR 416.502, 416.1124 and 416.1205 (SSI), 42 CFR 435.135 (Medicaid) and 7 CFR 273.9 and 273.12 (SNAP), each from the current edition.
• 42 U.S.C. 1396d(p)(2)(D) from the 2023 edition of the U.S. Code on govinfo.gov.

What we found that is easy to miss:

1. The SSI raise arrives in 2026. The notice says SSI goes up “effective for payments made for January 2027 but paid on December 31, 2026.” The holiday rule in 20 CFR 416.502 is the reason.
2. The $20 SSI income exclusion does not rise with the COLA, so the combined cut-off grows a little more slowly than a Social Security check does.
3. Losing SSI because of a COLA does not have to mean losing Medicaid — 42 CFR 435.135 requires states to look past those raises.
4. SNAP has until the second payment after the change to adjust, and you are usually not required to report the COLA yourself.
5. QMB ignores the COLA until the month after the new poverty guidelines come out.

What we did not do: we did not call Social Security, a state SNAP office or a state Medicaid office. The combined $1,014 and $1,049 totals are our own math from the official numbers. Average-benefit figures are Social Security’s estimates, not your amount. We do not list 2027 Medicare premiums: Social Security says Medicare’s 2027 changes will be posted on medicare.gov, and we will add them after we can read them there. State SSI supplements, state Medicaid rules and SNAP reporting rules vary, and we did not check each state.

If anything here differs from what Social Security or your state tells you about your own case, follow their instructions and let us know so we can re-check this guide.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.