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Military retirees and veterans receiving disability benefits will see the same 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027 announced today for Social Security recipients.
The increase was 2.8% last year and 2.5% in 2024.
The Social Security Administration calculates its COLA using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which tracks changes in a broad range of expenses, including rent, groceries and utilities.
Some retiree advocates say the CPI-W does not accurately reflect the inflation older Americans experience because it does not measure the expenses of retired households headed by people age 62 and older.
In recent years, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly has consistently outpaced the CPI-W, partly because of rising health care costs.
COLAs are not pay raises; they help retirement benefits keep pace with inflation. If the CPI-W does not increase, no adjustment is made.
By law, military retirees and veterans receiving disability benefits get the same COLA as Social Security recipients.
Service members are also expected to receive larger paychecks next year, though Congress has not yet set the increase.
The president proposed — and the House approved — a tiered raise of 5% to 7%: 7% for E-1 through E-4, 6% for E-6 through O-4, and 5% for O-4 and above.
The Senate has proposed a flat 3.6% raise.
The issue is among the differences in the two chambers’ versions of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that lawmakers must settle when they return to Capitol Hill after the midterm elections.
Some veterans and military retirees will receive the 2027 COLA increase in their December payments.
More than 8 million military retirees and veterans receive monthly benefit payments.
—By John Goheen
