Social Security 2026 COLA Increases 2.8% For Florida Seniors

FORT MYERS, Florida – Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 70 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2026, the Social Security Administration announced.

Effective January 2026, the adjustment aims to counter inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

For the average retired worker, this means an additional $56 per month, raising the typical benefit from $2,015 to $2,071, CNBC reports.

The 2026 increase surpasses the 2.5% adjustment for 2025 but is lower than the 3.2% in 2024 and the significant 8.7% in 2023, reflecting moderating inflation, WFLA reports. But is higher than the earlier 2.6% estimate by the Senior Citizens League.

Beneficiaries will receive updated benefit amounts by mail in December 2025, with the new payments starting in January 2026. SSI recipients will see the increase earlier, on December 31, 2025.

Florida, home to one of the largest populations of Social Security recipients in the nation, stands to feel the effects of this adjustment profoundly. With over 5.2 million beneficiaries—representing a significant portion of the state’s roughly 22 million residents—the Sunshine State ranks among the top for total Social Security payouts.

How Social Security Cost-Of-Living Adjustments Are Calculated

The purpose of the COLA is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not eroded by inflation.

It is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was determined to the third quarter of the current year. If there is no increase, there can be no COLA.

The CPI-W is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor.