The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy organization dedicated to protecting Americans’ Social Security and Medicare benefits, has published a new analysis showing that the average Social Security check has increased to just over $2,015.
This is thanks to the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment of 2.8%, which took effect earlier this month and increased the average benefit by about $55. Last year, the report recounts, Social Security retirement benefits averaged just over $1,960.
“Seeing the average Social Security retirement benefit cross $2,000 is a big milestone, but one that we’re witnessing far too late,” said Shannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League. “The reality is that seniors consistently tell us that they see their benefits falling further behind inflation every year, as their quality of life degrades.”
The organization Tuesday also offered its first COLA prediction for 2027, projecting a 2.5% increase based on the latest inflation data from the federal government. This would be in line with 2025’s increase of 2.5% but smaller than 2024's increase of 3.2%, which itself followed a near-record COLA of 8.7% in 2023.
The 2.8% figure for 2026, in turn, is near the 2.6% average COLA over the past 20 years.
The Senior Citizens League’s report argues that the annual COLA formula, based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers and not a senior-specific inflation gauge, consistently shortchanges beneficiaries.
“According to our research, four in five seniors are either already struggling to pay for basics like rent and food or are living from benefits check to benefits check,” Benton said. “Nearly 60% have skipped at least one medical service in the last year because they couldn’t afford it.”
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