SSI Payments with 2.8% Increase Start Dec. 31 for All Recipients

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on October 24, 2025, a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in 2026 for 75 million Americans, marking an increase from the 2.5 percent adjustment applied in 2025.

The agency stated the adjustment will raise monthly maximum federal payments to $994 for an eligible individual, $1,491 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $498 for an essential person.

SSI provides financial support to about 7.5 million low-income adults and children who are aged, blind, or disabled, including many retirees aged 65 and older who qualify based on limited resources. 

The first payment reflecting the 2026 adjustment arrives on December 31, 2025, for January benefits because January 1 falls on a federal holiday, New Year's Day, prompting the agency to issue checks on the prior business day. "SSI beneficiaries should receive their first COLA-boosted payment Dec. 31, 2025.

SSI benefits are typically paid on the first of the month, but when the first falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the payment is made on the last business day of the prior month," according to a report from AARP.

The Social Security Administration confirmed, "Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million SSI recipients will begin on December 31, 2025." 

Cost-of-living adjustments trace back to 1950, when Congress enacted the first benefit increase of 77 percent a decade after Social Security payments began in 1940, followed by periodic ad hoc raises until 1973 legislation established automatic annual COLAs starting in 1975.

The 1975 adjustment stood at 8 percent, based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from the third quarter of one year to the next.

Adjustments reached highs of 14.3 percent in 1980 amid inflation rates exceeding 12 percent in the late 1970s, but no increases occurred in 2010, 2011, and 2016 due to low inflation.

Recent years saw a 5.9 percent COLA in 2022, 8.7 percent in 2023, 3.2 percent in 2024, and 2.5 percent in 2025, reflecting shifts in consumer prices for items like food, housing, and medical care.

The 2026 COLA of 2.8 percent stems from a 2.8 percent rise in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025, as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 2.8 percent COLA for 2026," the Social Security Administration stated in its fact sheet. 

SSI payments follow a fixed schedule on the first of each month unless adjusted for holidays or weekends, differing from Social Security retirement benefits disbursed on Wednesdays based on birth dates.

The agency mails COLA notices to beneficiaries throughout December, detailing individual payment amounts for the new year.

According to the Social Security Administration's FAQ:

"When your notice will arrive in the mail: We mail COLA notices throughout the month of December to retirement, survivors, and disability beneficiaries, SSI recipients, and representative payees."