The Social Security Administration has announced its cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 — and it may not be as high as some Wisconsin recipients may have hoped.
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments will increase by 2.8% come 2026, the agency announced Oct. 24. That amounts to, on average, a $56 monthly increase in retirement benefits.
The adjustment is higher than the 2025 increase of 2.5%, but it falls below the average Social Security cost-of-living adjustment of 3.1% over the past decade. It’s also below the annual inflation rate of 3%, and rising Medicare premiums next year are likely to offset the increase for many seniors, USA TODAY reported.
In Wisconsin, more than 1.3 million people receive Social Security benefits.
Here’s what to know about the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, plus other changes beneficiaries can expect in 2026:
When will the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment kick in?
The 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment will go into effect in January 2026.
Social Security benefits are issued throughout the month depending on the recipient’s birth date. Beneficiaries will receive a letter in December informing them of their next payment date, or they can find the cost-of-living adjustment notice earlier on their my Social Security account.
Supplemental Security Income payments, meanwhile, are typically issued on the first of the month, unless that falls on a weekend or federal holiday. Since Jan. 1 is New Year’s Day, SSI beneficiaries will receive their first payment with the 2.8% increase on Dec. 31, 2025.
What are other changes coming to Social Security in 2026?
Here are some of the other changes Wisconsin Social Security recipients can expect in 2026:
Full retirement age will go up in 2026
The full retirement age for Social Security will increase in 2026.
You can begin filing for monthly Social Security benefits at 62, but won’t receive full benefits if you start filing at that age. Instead, the agency sets a full retirement age each year, and people can increase their monthly benefits by waiting until they’re at least that age to claim Social Security.
Here are the full retirement ages for people born in 1943 and later:
Social Security work credit requirements will increase in 2026
To qualify for Social Security payments when you retire, you need to accumulate 40 “work credits” throughout your life. Each credit represents a certain amount of earnings, and people can earn a maximum of four credits per year, according to the SSA.
The value of a work credit increases annually. In 2026, it will be $1,890 per credit, up from $1,810 in 2025. You must earn $7,560 in 2026 to get four full credits for the year. The annual change especially impacts part-time workers and people who are full-time caregivers or parents.
Social Security to stop issuing paper checks
Paper checks for Social Security benefits will be a thing of the past come 2026.
In March, Trump signed an executive order ending the issuance of paper checks by the federal government, effective Sept. 30. Many Social Security beneficiaries already used the electronic payment system, but starting in October, recipients had to set up direct deposit to a bank account or a Direct Express Debit Mastercard to get payments.
Some workers will pay more in Social Security taxes in 2026
Most of the revenue for Social Security comes from payroll taxes that everyone pays, and a wage cap is set each year to determine the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax, according to the SSA.
In 2026, the wage cap is increasing from $176,100 to $184,500. Most employers and employees must pay 6.2% of their earnings to Social Security, and any income above the taxable maximum is excluded.
In other words, workers who make $184,500 per year pay the same amount in Social Security taxes as workers who make $1 million.
When do Social Security and SSI checks go out in 2025?
Before these changes kick in, there are still a number of Social Security checks left to go out in 2025.
Social Security checks are distributed on a Wednesday each month depending on the recipient’s birthday, while SSI checks are released on the same day for all beneficiaries. See the 2025 schedule for more details.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Social Security recipients will get a lower-than-average COLA increase in 2026
Reporting by Maia Pandey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
