Will Social Security Get a Raise in 2027? What the October 14 Number Really Means (2026)
The short answer
Yes. A raise is coming in January, and nobody will ask you how big it should be.
A formula in the law sets it. On October 14, 2026, Social Security announced it: 3.6 percent, starting with your January 2027 check (Social Security's 2027 fact sheet).
Then Medicare's Part B comes out of the same check. The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report estimates it at $209.50 a month in 2027, up from $202.90.
A raise you did not set, with a bill you did not set right behind it. That is the whole post. The rest is the proof.
What this guide answers
Who decides how big your raise is?
Quick answer: a formula in the Social Security Act. Not you, and not anyone you can call.
Every December a one-page letter comes. It shows the new amount, and what comes out of it.
Maybe it comes to your mailbox. Maybe it comes to your mother's, and she slides it across her kitchen table to you.
Nobody asked either of you what it should say. Social Security's own page puts it plainly: "The Social Security Act specifies a formula for determining each COLA." COLA is their word for the yearly raise.
Twenty minutes, and you decide nothing on the call
Working out what comes next? Book the twenty minutes. I will answer whatever you ask.
You can always say no.The formula is short. Take average prices for July, August and September. Compare them with the same three months last year. The gap, rounded, is your raise.
And so it can be nothing at all. The same page says so: "If there is no increase, or if the rounded increase is zero, there is no COLA for the year."
That has happened. Social Security's record shows a zero for 2009, 2010 and 2015. Each one meant no raise the next January. In a year like that, the formula owes you nothing.
How big will the 2027 raise be?
Quick answer: 3.6 percent, announced October 14, 2026.
The formula compares one price index for July, August and September with the same months last year. This year it came out 3.6 percent higher, and that is your raise.
The raise for 2026 was 2.8 percent. The one before was 2.5.
Nobody asked you what it should be. And part of it is already spoken for.
How much of the raise does Medicare take back?
Quick answer: Part B comes out of the check first, and it is estimated to go up again.
If you are on Medicare, the Part B premium usually comes straight out of the Social Security check. You never touch that money.
Look at this year. The raise was 2.8 percent. Part B went from $185.00 to $202.90 a month. That is $17.90 more, close to a 10 percent jump.
Now 2027. The Medicare Trustees Report, dated June 9, 2026, says it in one line: "The estimated monthly premium for 2027 is $209.50."
If that estimate holds, that is $6.60 more, gone before the raise ever reaches you. Medicare sets the final number later in the fall. Last year it came out November 14.
So you get a raise, and a bill moves in right behind it. Nobody asks you about either one, and the raise is not even measured on your shopping.
Whose shopping sets your raise?
Quick answer: working households in cities. Not retirees.
The law ties your raise to one price index. Social Security's own announcement names it as the one for "Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps a separate index for people 62 and older. Its own page says official use of it has been "considered by other government agencies, but not implemented." It blames limits in how the index is built.
And so the raise you live on is measured on somebody else's cart.
A formula sizes the check. Medicare sizes the bill. Neither one asks you. That is what October 14 shows you.
Here is the record in one table. The last row goes against me, and I left it in.
| What you hear | What the record shows | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| You get a raise every year | Checks paid in 2010, 2011 and 2016 got none | Social Security COLA history |
| The raise follows your prices | It follows prices for urban wage earners, not the research index for people 62 and older | Social Security; Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| The raise is yours to keep | In 2026 the raise was 2.8 percent and Part B rose $17.90 | CMS, November 2025 |
| Medicare can swallow the whole raise | For about 70 percent of people on Part B, the law caps the rise at the rise in the check | 2026 Medicare Trustees Report |
Nobody mails you that table with the letter. Keep it.
Isn't this just another pitch?
Quick answer: partly, and here is the part I will not dress up.
Social Security is not a monster. Its own page says the raise exists so benefits "keep pace with inflation."
The estimated Part B jump for 2027 is also much smaller than last year's. And for about 70 percent of people on Part B, the law caps it. Their premium cannot rise by more dollars than their check. I will say both of those plainly.
I am not asking you to give up a single dollar of it. It is a floor. A floor is just not a plan you get to write.
Switch to America sells straight from the manufacturer. No middlemen and no markup. No minimums, no maximums.
You pay what a brand new shopper pays. Not a penny less. And there is no list of ten people you know. I do not teach that.
I will not hand you a number to expect either. Nobody honest can.
What would I do between now and December?
Quick answer: find the two lines that matter, then write down what is still yours.
Find the two lines on the letter
When it comes in December, look for two things. The new amount, and what comes out of it. If you help your mother with hers, sit down together and find both. The gap between those two lines is the real raise.
Write down what is still yours
Write down the skills people still ask you about. Put the list on the fridge.
That list is the only part of this you set yourself. No formula touches it.
Ask five questions of whatever comes next
Including of me. What does it cost to start, all in. Is there a monthly requirement. What happens if I stop. Where is the income disclosure, and can I read it today. Who gets paid when I start.
If somebody dodges one, that is your answer.
Shannon's Advice
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We can't trust them. That is where Switch to America comes in. We are a new supply chain, built on family values, trust and affordability.
You do not have to take my word for it. The proof is in my blog posts, the recalls, the lawsuits and the fines. Also, inside my Switch Circle private community, we talk about real solutions.
Women come to me exhausted, in pain, stressed out, and on a list of prescriptions they never wanted. I have spent over 20 years helping women get off prescription medications. I help families reclaim their health.
We cannot stop them. I have stopped expecting to. However, we can stop walking into their stores. We are linking arms and together taking our control back. Control of our health and our finances.
Start by clicking the link below and booking the twenty minutes.
Where to check me
- Social Security's latest COLA page. The formula, the 2.8 percent for 2026, and the line saying the raise can be zero. Your raise, in their words.
- The price index the formula uses, month by month. July 2026 was 327.104 and August was 328.481. Check my math.
- CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A and B premiums, November 14, 2025. Part B went from $185.00 to $202.90. The bill moved faster than the raise.
- The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, pages 87 and 88. The $209.50 estimate for 2027, and the rule that protects about 70 percent of people on Part B. One line for me, one against me.
- Social Security's COLA history. Zero for 2009, 2010 and 2015. Each meant no raise the next January. A raise is usual. It is not promised.
- The research index for Americans 62 and older. Considered for official use, "but not implemented." Built around older Americans, and not used.
The 2027 number came out October 14, 2026: 3.6 percent.
Twenty minutes, on video, no slides
You ask, I answer, including the awkward ones. If it is not for you I would rather find out on the call.
You can always say no, and there is no follow up if you do.What else are women asking me about this?
When will I know my exact amount for 2027?
The percentage came out October 14: 3.6 percent. Last year, Social Security started mailing the one-page letters in early December. With an online Social Security account, you can see yours faster than the mail.
Can Medicare take my whole raise?
For about 70 percent of people on Part B, no. A rule in the law stops the premium from rising by more dollars than the check rises. It does not cover people new to Part B, people with high incomes, or anyone whose premium is not taken out of a Social Security check.
Do I have to give anything up to build something?
No. Nobody is asking you to touch your Social Security. Whatever you build sits beside it, not instead of it.
Here is what I want for you, whether or not we ever speak.
It is a Saturday in December. The letter sits on the counter by your coffee. You open it. You find the two lines. Then you set it down and finish your coffee.
You become the one who decides something in your own month. Not the letter.
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- More for women building something