{"id":65950,"date":"2026-05-18T19:18:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T23:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=65950"},"modified":"2026-05-18T19:18:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T23:18:51","slug":"social-security-cola-for-2027-expected-to-jump-estimate-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/05\/18\/social-security-cola-for-2027-expected-to-jump-estimate-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security COLA for 2027 expected to jump, estimate says\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"6f7c94\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #6f7c94;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" src=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/download-2-7.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-65951 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/download-2-7.webp 225w, https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/download-2-7-150x150.webp 150w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the latest inflation data released in mid-May 2026, estimated projections for the <strong>2027 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)<\/strong> have taken a massive, unexpected jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_3e1a50f1f49f2405-118\">After sitting at a steady estimate of 2.8% for months, the numbers skyrocketed due to a recent spike in inflation\u2014largely driven by rising energy, gas, and grocery costs.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is what the top nonpartisan groups and analysts are currently predicting for 2027:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Senior Citizens League (TSCL):<\/strong> Has raised its projection to <strong>3.9%<\/strong> (up from its previous 2.8% estimate).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Independent Analyst Mary Johnson:<\/strong> Forecasts the COLA could reach as high as <strong>4.2%<\/strong> (up from her previous 3.2% estimate), noting sharp spikes in things like fresh produce and home heating oil.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB):<\/strong> Estimates a <strong>3.8%<\/strong> increase, though they note the final number could realistically land anywhere between 3% and 4.5% depending on how inflation behaves over the summer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means for Monthly Checks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the current <strong>3.9% estimate<\/strong> holds true, it would be the largest bump since the massive 8.7% spike in 2023. Here is how that would alter average monthly benefits starting in January 2027:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Benefit Type<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Current Average (2026)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Estimated 2027 Increase<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Estimated New Monthly Average<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Retired Workers<\/strong><\/td><td>$2,081.16<\/td><td>+$81.17<\/td><td><strong>$2,162.33<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Spousal Benefits<\/strong><\/td><td>$986.00<\/td><td>+$38.00<\/td><td><strong>$1,024.00<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Catch for Retirees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While a larger check sounds like great news on the surface, senior advocacy groups point out two major downsides:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lost Buying Power:<\/strong> The higher COLA is a direct reflection of pain at the pump and the grocery store. TSCL reports that because older Americans spend heavily on faster-rising expenses (like healthcare and housing), Social Security benefits have still lost roughly 13.7% of their purchasing power over the last decade.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Medicare Premium Drain:<\/strong> Part of the bump will likely be eaten up by rising Medicare Part B premiums, which are deducted directly from Social Security checks and are also projected to increase.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Will It Be Official?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_3e1a50f1f49f2405-123\">Nothing is set in stone just yet. The Social Security Administration (SSA) doesn&#8217;t calculate the official COLA using spring data.<sup><\/sup> Instead, by law, they use the average inflation numbers from the <strong>third quarter (July, August, and September)<\/strong>.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_3e1a50f1f49f2405-124\">The official, finalized 2027 COLA announcement will be made in <strong>mid-October 2026<\/strong>.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following the latest inflation data released in mid-May 2026, estimated projections for the 2027 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) have taken a massive, unexpected jump. After sitting at a steady&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"14","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDVcL2Rvd25sb2FkLTItNy53ZWJwP2ZpdD0yMjUlMkMyMjUmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJTb2NpYWwgU2VjdXJpdHkgQ09MQSBmb3IgMjAyNyBleHBlY3RlZCB0byBqdW1wLCBlc3RpbWF0ZSBzYXlzXHUwMGEwIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJkb2lzIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.tlglhu6k91K3x8EaLybAnAVYsvdXBP_OV6UC4DgM4CIMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzA1XC9kb3dubG9hZC0yLTcud2VicCIsInR4dCI6IlNvY2lhbCBTZWN1cml0eSBDT0xBIGZvciAyMDI3IGV4cGVjdGVkIHRvIGp1bXAsIGVzdGltYXRlIHNheXNcdTAwYTAiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImRvaXMiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.xaZo9atJkGBaXoUz_YhTpUZNmUSPPL9Pd3McVLHGni8MQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[14644,14643],"class_list":["post-65950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-estimate-says","tag-social-security-cola-for-2027-expected-to-jump"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65950"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65952,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65950\/revisions\/65952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}