Based on the most updated inflation data, the nonpartisan Senior Citizens League is predicting that 2026's Social Security COLA will be 2.3%. That's a notch lower than 2025's COLA, and it's also a number that may have a lot of older Americans worried.

Fast moving economic changes have already impacted just how effective the 2025 COLA rate of 2.5% is, especially when it comes to buying power.

Social Security beneficiaries receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to keep the purchasing power of benefits aligned with rising prices across the economy. The official 2026 COLA will not be determined until October 2025 because it depends on inflation data from the third quarter, which is collected between July and September.