The Social Security increase for 2025 has yet to take effect — retirees can expect to start seeing the extra money in January. But it’s technically not too soon to start looking ahead to the bump for 2026. The news isn’t great, though: The Senior Citizens League projects that the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026 will be exactly the same as it will be for 2025: 2.5%