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The cost-of-living increase for Social Security retirees will be 2.8 percent in 2026. For government retirees, the exact amount of the increase in their federal annuities depends on their retirement system.
For those who retired in the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), annuities will go up by 2.8 percent. A $2,000 monthly CSRS annuity would increase by $56.
For those who retired in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), annuities will go up by 2 percent. A $2,000 monthly FERS annuity would increase by $40.
The COLA announcement from the Social Security Administration was delayed this year because of the government shutdown.
NTEU has endorsed the Equal COLA Act (H.R. 491 and S. 624) to eliminate the disparity between COLA increases for CSRS and FERS retirees when inflation is more than 2 percent.
Click HERE to tell your members of Congress to support the Equal COLA Act so that all federal retirees share in the full cost-of-living adjustment.
The COLA is based on increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The 2025 COLA was 2.5 percent, so the larger increase in 2026 is a sign of rising inflation. The 2026 COLA marks the fifth consecutive year that the adjustment was 2.5 percent or higher, which hasn’t happened since 1988-97.
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