What to know about the latest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment

The COLA for 2025 marked the smallest increase in years, and benefit recipients are not happy

Calculator sitting on a yellow background next to the outline of a house and text that reads "cost adjustment"
2026 is not shaping up to be much better
(Image credit: Andrii Dodonov / Getty Images)

Average monthly Social Security benefits payments do not always stay the same. Instead, they inch up slowly over time based on what's known as a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA.

These adjustments are supposed to reflect the increased cost of living that occurs due to "inflation and rising prices in the economy," said Investopedia. However, "many weren't happy with" the COLA for 2025, which marked "the smallest increase in years," said The Motley Fool. And it seems like 2026 is not shaping up to be much better.

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Becca Stanek, The Week US

Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. She previously served as a deputy editor and later a managing editor overseeing investing and savings content at LendingTree and as an editor at the financial startup SmartAsset, where she focused on retirement- and financial-adviser-related content. Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads.