Final Steps to Take Before October
You do not need to wait for the October announcement to prepare your finances. Start by logging into your my Social Security account to verify your current benefit amount and review your earnings record. If you have not yet claimed, use the site’s calculators to see how delaying your claim impacts your future monthly payouts.
Next, perform a comprehensive review of your household spending. Pull your bank statements from the last three months and categorize your expenses. Identify exactly where inflation hits your budget the hardest. Having an accurate picture of your baseline expenses allows you to plug the official COLA number into your budget immediately upon its release.
Lastly, prepare for the Medicare Open Enrollment period. Create a list of your current medical providers and prescription dosages. When October arrives, you will have the information you need to swiftly compare plans, ensuring that a rising Part B or Part D premium does not unfairly consume your cost-of-living adjustment. Taking these proactive steps today positions you to navigate 2027 with financial confidence and clarity.
Last updated: June 2026. This is educational content based on general retirement planning principles. Individual results vary based on your situation. Always verify current benefit amounts, tax laws, and eligibility with official sources.
I’ll get about $154 more
COLA is so broken. The cost of gas has made almost a 20% increase and cost of food has nearly 30% increase on some items. 3% is not even a scratch on the surface. Its hard enough to get SSI but to work your whole life just to struggle because the government can’t do basic math is getting really old. COLA is suppose to reflect the Cost of Living. Ao if cost of living makes a 20% increase that year the SSI and VA Disability benefits should follow suit. Quit punishing the people who the government has lied to the longest.
Yeah, we appreciate everything we get, but this still is not enough for the older people
The only good thing I have to say is I’m more and more grateful for the Blue Cross- Blue Shield insurance that, as a former VA employee, I carried over into retirement. Comparing BCBS with Medicare plan B, the latter is a ripoff.
3.8 per cent of nothing is still nothing
Right on .They don’t get social security and the right wing lies about it to keep us divided by their ignorant base that don’t know any better since they are told to stay stupid and not research or think for themselves
So we get a raise in social security but then Medicare raises its prices so SS is a very little increase. How about we make Congress paypack the monies they STOLE from Social Security and left WORTHLESS IOU’s in its place? Plus interest, it might make Social Security solvent. And then ahow about Congress has to pay into Social Security the way other people HAVE TO. How about any time they make a new rule, they have to follow it also and not be exempt! I’d be for all of that!
So we get a raise but Medicare immediately raises what they pull out. Your ‘raise’ is drastically reduced. How about we do 2 things: Make Congress pay back (with interest) the Worthless IOU’s they left when they Stole funds from Social Security. And make Congress pay into Social Security the way the people who work have to. Just a thought.
You get a bump in social security and Medicare immediately raises you costs so how much do you really realize in the SS gain? If they made Congress pay back all the WORTHLESS IOU’s they left when they stole monies from Social Security, it would put social security on solid financial ground. But they won’t pay it back yet keep raising their (Congress’) salaries ! And how about if Congress had to pay into social security instead of exempting themselves from it?
retired people continue to get screwed. the lying piece of shit government knows inflation is well above 10 percent but they continue to stick it to us.