Social Security's 2027 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 3.6%, 0.8% higher than this year's, and will raise monthly benefits beginning in January. The COLA is calculated from CPI-W, which rose 3.9% from a year earlier in September, compared with 3.7% for the headline CPI-U. Energy prices drove the increase: in September, energy costs rose 20.4% year over year, gasoline 34.2%, and fuel oil 74.2%, amid the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. CPI-W had eased to 3.4% in July and 3.5% in August before accelerating again, and the COLA is based on the third-quarter average compared with the prior year. The article notes that the adjustment will not fully offset the inflation recipients are facing.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: September Inflation Came In at 3 . 9 %, Helping to Set Social Security 2027 Cost - of - Living Adjustment ( COLA )
Read the original on fool.com ↗
Keywords
inflationSocial Securityfuel prices
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
DXY
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: high
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 101.78 |
| Change that session | -0.20% |
PAXG/USDT
▼ Likely negativePAX Gold
Relevance: low
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Real-world assets |
| Market cap | $1.8B |
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 4,162.70 |
| Change that session | +0.11% |
XAUT/USDT
▼ Likely negativeTether Gold
Relevance: low
| Market | Crypto |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Binance |
| Sector | Real-world assets |
| Market cap | $3.4B |
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 4,159.65 |
| Change that session | +0.15% |
XAU/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: low
| Market | Gold |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 4,165.63 |
| Change that session | -0.13% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- September Inflation Came In at 3.9%, Helping to Set Social Security's 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
Social Security recipients will receive a 3.6% increase in monthly benefits starting next year, 0.8% higher than this year's COLA. The adjustment is based on the CPI-W, which rose 3.9% year over year in September, and the Q3 average was 3.62% above the previous year's average, rounded to 3.6%. The increase largely reflects energy price spikes tied to the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with gasoline up 34.2% and fuel oil up 74.2% year over year in September. Inflation cooled in July and August before accelerating again in September. The article notes the COLA likely won't fully offset current inflation, but it lets recipients plan their 2027 budgets.
- Retirees Are Paying 30 % More for Groceries Than 6 Years Ago - Why They Could Go Higher This Winter
According to the BLS, grocery prices fell 0.1% in September, but the Center for American Progress found prices have risen about 30% over six years, placing heavy strain on retirees. For example, ground chuck averaged $6.48 per pound in September, down 29 cents from August but still about $2.32 more than in September 2020. The USDA projects average grocery prices to rise 2.4% this year, with beef and veal up 9.4% while eggs fall 29.4%. Social Security benefits will rise 3.6% from January 2027, about $75 more per month for the average retired worker, against average grocery spending of about $438 a month for households headed by someone 65 or older in 2024. The increase can help, but it won't necessarily restore what years of higher prices have taken from retirees' budgets.
- The 2027 Social Security COLA Will Boost Average Benefits by $901 Annually . Will It Be Enough ?
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 3.6%, which the article calls fairly large by historical standards and the fifth-highest in 35 years. Average monthly benefits for retired workers were about $2,087.52 in August, roughly $25,050 a year, so the increase adds about $901.80 annually. The higher adjustment follows the Iran war, which pushed oil prices and inflation up and led the Federal Reserve to raise rates once, with another hike expected before year-end. The Senior Citizens League says 2026 benefits are worth only about $0.836 on the dollar compared with 2016, a 13.7% loss in purchasing power over a decade, and argues a CPI-E measure would better reflect seniors' costs. The article concludes that high COLAs may not fully solve affordability problems for retirees.
- The 2027 Social Security COLA Will Boost Average Benefits by $901 Annually. Will It Be Enough?
The 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 3.6%, well above expectations at the start of 2026, and would add about $901.80 a year to average retiree benefits of roughly $25,050. It is based on CPI-W data for July to September, and the article links the higher inflation to the Iran war, which pushed up oil prices and led the Federal Reserve to raise rates once, with another hike expected before year-end. The 3.6% figure is the fifth-highest COLA in 35 years, following 5.9% in 2021 and 8.7% in 2022. Still, the Senior Citizens League found benefits in 2026 were worth only about $0.836 on the dollar compared with 2016, a 13.7% loss in purchasing power that it partly attributes to the CPI-W formula. The article concludes that high COLAs have helped somewhat but likely will not solve retirees' affordability problems.
- Social Security benefits increase will hit 3 . 6 % in 2027
The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for benefits in 2027, starting in January for 72 million beneficiaries and on December 31 for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. The increase reflects inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index from the third quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026, and average retirement benefits will rise by about $75 a month. The payroll tax rate stays at 6.2%, while the taxable earnings cap rises from $184,500 to $192,300. The program faces a shortfall as payments exceed tax collections, and without congressional action, benefits would automatically begin to decrease in 2032. Senate candidates in key races have so far been relatively quiet on the issue.
- Social Security COLA Tracks Working Households , Not Retirees . Here How Much Bigger 2024 Raise Would Have Been .
Social Security benefits will rise 3.6% starting January 2027, based on the CPI-W index, which tracks prices for working households rather than retirees. The article argues this misses retirees' spending patterns: they spend less on food, housing and transportation but more on healthcare. Using the CPI-E index for people aged 62 and older, the 2024 raise would have been 4% instead of 3.2%, a $62 monthly increase instead of $50. The Senior Citizens League estimates beneficiaries have lost 13.7% of their buying power since 2016, and the shortfalls compound over time. Because Congress is unlikely to act quickly, retirees can offset the gap by generating more investment income or using higher-yielding savings accounts.
Related markets
Latest news
- Why Meta's Q3 earnings could be a little hard to interpret
Meta is reporting its third-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday, and Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi says the report will be hard to interpret. Recent good news on Meta's AI products, including new models and an AI agent, may not appear directly in the results but will likely be discussed on the earnings call. The key uncertainty is how investors will react if Meta raises its capex outlook again: it could be seen as fueling those products, or as overspending on offerings not yet reflected in financials. Sozzi expects the market to give Meta the benefit of the doubt on higher capex, as long as the increase does not shock investors.
- Zerohash rolls out a new tool to move crypto without copying wallet addresses
Zerohash launched AUTH, a service that lets users move crypto, stablecoins and blockchain-based stock tokens between linked exchange accounts or self-custody wallets without copying wallet addresses or choosing a blockchain network. To transfer, users pick an account in an app that offers AUTH, sign in and approve the move, while the service handles routing and settlement and each app sets which assets and transfer types it allows. AUTH supports more than 600 connections, including Coinbase, Robinhood, Gemini, MetaMask and Phantom, with Coinbase, Robinhood and Gemini live and Kraken in beta. The launch comes as Zerohash's application for a national trust bank charter, returned by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in July, remains pending after a narrower refiling on Aug. 18.
- 2 charts show why Wall Street is right to worry about tech stocks
Rising cost of capital could affect the financial statements of hyperscalers such as Oracle (ORCL) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in 2027, as they need fresh debt to fund AI infrastructure and free cash flow may turn negative. JPMorgan strategist Mislav Matejka forecasts hyperscaler free cash flow will turn negative in 2027, implying credit markets will drive more of the AI build-out. Consensus estimates for 2027 capital expenditures are already rising from levels experts believe are too low. Morgan Stanley sees total 2027 capex among hyperscalers reaching $1.6 trillion, up from $978 billion estimated for this year. Dan Ives of Yorkville expects capex to reach the trillions and over 1,000 datacenters to be built in the next few years.
- Update on loan rate cuts as of the evening of Oct 19: MB, VietinBank, SHB, OCB join in
SHB, MB, VietinBank and OCB have announced loan rate cuts, following Agribank, Vietcombank, BIDV, ACB, LPBank and VietBank, with typical reductions of 1.5-2% per year. MB is cutting 1.5% per year for five priority sectors, to rates from 7.9% per year, and up to 2% in some cases; VietinBank is cutting up to 2% per year, while OCB offers up to 2.25% per year on some medium- and long-term loans for OCB Priority Banking members. SHB is cutting 1.5-2% per year for businesses and households and offers rates from 5.5% per year for lecturers and students at some universities. Vietcombank commits to cutting at least 2% through year-end, BIDV applies rates from 6% per year on short-term VND loans from 15/10/2026, and VietBank runs a VND 3,000 billion package. Specific benefits depend on borrower type, loan purpose, term and program conditions, following directives from the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam.
- Nvidia wins CPU business from Modal, previously exclusive to AMD and Intel
Modal, a San Francisco-based AI cloud startup that previously ran its AI agent workloads only on Intel and AMD processors, will begin using Nvidia's new Vera CPU. Early tests showed the Nvidia chip doubled work capacity for AI agents, and Modal plans to run it alongside Intel and AMD chips, assigning each task to the most efficient hardware, though integration requires substantial software changes. Modal recently raised $750 million in a round led by Accel at a $15.75 billion valuation and expects $1 billion in sales over the next year, with usage tripled and revenue up more than 15 times year-over-year. Nvidia projects at least $20 billion in Vera chip revenue this fiscal year in a market it estimates at about $200 billion, and says OpenAI, Anthropic, Oracle and Perplexity also plan to use the chips.
- America's EV Plans Have Died
Billions of dollars went into EV factories, dealerships and marketing after President Biden set a goal for 50% of new US car sales to be zero-emission by 2030, but EV sales have since fallen sharply. US EV sales dropped 30.7% in the first nine months of 2026, after the $7,500 tax credit expired on September 30 last year, and gas prices near $4.50 per gallon have done little to lift them. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average transaction price of a new EV was $54,754 in August, above the $50,089 average for all new cars. Ford's EV sales fell 80.2% to 6,047 in the third quarter, and it has no new EV planned until its Fathom launches next year, while Tesla holds over 50% of the market and no other major automaker has even 10%. The article says EVs could recover if gas prices reach $5 and stay there for months, but that is uncertain.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.