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Military retirees and veterans on disability will receive the same 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment in 2026 that federal officials announced Friday for Social Security recipients.
Last year, the increase was 2.5%. In 2024, the boost was 3.2%. It was 8.7% in 2023, which was the largest in 42 years.
The COLA announcement, initially scheduled for Oct. 15, was delayed by nine days due to the government shutdown. However, the bump in benefits will take effect on time.
The Social Security Administration determines its COLA by using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Works, which tracks a broad sampling of costs like rent, groceries and utilities over time.
Some advocates for retirees believe the CPI-W — which doesn’t survey the cost of retired households over the age of 62 — isn’t an accurate reflection of the inflation rate older Americans face.
The Consumer Price Index for the Elderly has consistently run higher than the CPI-W in recent years, in part due to rising health care costs.
COLAs aren’t pay raises. These adjustments merely help retirement benefits keep pace with inflation. In years when there are no increases in the CPI-W, there are no adjustments.
Military retirees and veterans on disability by law receive the same COLA as Social Security recipients.
Those in uniform are in line to see a 3.8% pay increase next year.
That’s the amount the president requested in his budget proposal. Both the House and Senate included the same figure in their versions of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
President Donald Trump proposed a 1% pay raise for most federal civilian employees in 2026, with locality pay frozen at current levels. Certain federal law enforcement officers, however, will receive a 3.8% increase, matching the military raise for 2026.
Some veterans and military retirees will see the 2026 COLA increase in their December checks.
More than 7 million retirees and veterans receive benefits checks monthly.
—By John Goheen
