Updated Oct. 21, 2026: Added the exact DFAS pay dates for retirees (Dec. 31) and SBP annuitants (Jan. 4), where the VA cost-of-living bill stands in Congress, and what is still pending on 2027 Medicare Part B premiums.
It’s official: military retired pay is going up 3.6% next year.
The Social Security Administration announced the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment on Oct. 14, and by law military retirees receive the same increase, and veterans who get VA disability compensation are set to get it too once Congress passes its annual VA cost-of-living bill. It is up from 2.8% this year and 2.5% in 2025, and it is the largest bump since 2023.
The adjustment is tied to inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. It is meant to keep benefits from losing value, so it isn’t a raise in the usual sense.
What 3.6% adds to your retired pay
| Gross monthly retired pay now | Increase | New monthly amount |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | +$54 | $1,554 |
| $2,000 | +$72 | $2,072 |
| $2,500 | +$90 | $2,590 |
| $3,000 | +$108 | $3,108 |
| $4,000 | +$144 | $4,144 |
| $5,000 | +$180 | $5,180 |
| $6,500 | +$234 | $6,734 |
These are gross figures. Federal tax withholding and any Survivor Benefit Plan premium come out after, so what lands in your account will rise by a little less. Your exact amount will appear on your retiree account statement in myPay.
Who gets it, and who gets less
- Most military retirees, including those under the legacy High-3 and the Blended Retirement System, get the full 3.6%.
- Retirees who took the Career Status Bonus under REDUX get the COLA minus one percentage point, or 2.6%, under the rules of that plan.
- Survivor Benefit Plan annuitants see their annuities adjusted by the COLA as well.
- Veterans receiving VA disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation and some other VA benefits are in line for 3.6%. Congress sets that increase each year to match the Social Security rate, and this year’s bill had not passed as of Oct. 21. We worked out the new VA rates by disability rating here.
- About 72 million Social Security beneficiaries get the same 3.6%, roughly $75 a month for the average benefit.
More than 8 million military retirees and veterans receive monthly payments affected by the adjustment, the National Guard Association of the United States said.
When it shows up
The increase takes effect with December benefits, so retirees will see it in the Dec. 31 payment, Survivor Benefit Plan annuitants on Jan. 4 and VA beneficiaries in the Dec. 31 deposit. If you also get Social Security, your notice with the new amount will be posted in your my Social Security account in late November, as long as they create an account by Nov. 18. Paper notices go out by mail in December.
The Social Security Administration’s official COLA details are on its cost-of-living page, and DFAS posts the retired pay adjustment on its retired military page.
The exact dates the 3.6% COLA hits retired pay and SBP checks
The COLA is effective Dec. 1, 2026, which means it first shows up in the payment for December. Retired pay is due on the first of the month, but Jan. 1, 2027, is a Friday and a federal holiday. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service pay schedule handles that differently for the two groups it pays.
| Who | Payment for | Pay date | COLA included? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military retirees | November 2026 | Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026 | No |
| Military retirees | December 2026 | Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026 | Yes, first raised check |
| SBP annuitants | December 2026 | Monday, Jan. 4, 2027 | Yes, first raised check |
The split comes from a single DFAS rule. When the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, “retirees are paid on the last business day of the month,” while “annuitants are paid on the first business day of month,” according to the DFAS retiree and annuitant pay schedule. So a retiree gets the bigger deposit before New Year’s Day, and a surviving spouse on the Survivor Benefit Plan waits until the following Monday.
The VA half of the raise isn’t final yet
Retired pay COLAs happen automatically under permanent law. VA disability compensation doesn’t work that way. Stars and Stripes reported on Oct. 14 that “Congress must pass a specific bill every year to direct the VA to increase compensation rates.”
That bill hasn’t moved much. The Senate version, S. 4487, was introduced May 11 and referred to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, with no action since, according to its official bill status record. The House version, H.R. 8552, cleared a subcommittee by voice vote June 30 and is waiting on the full committee. If you draw both retired pay and VA compensation, you’re covered on the retired pay side. The VA side depends on Congress acting after the Nov. 3 elections.
Watch for the 2027 Medicare premium
Retirees 65 and older need Medicare Part B to keep TRICARE For Life, and the Part B premium usually comes out of the Social Security check. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hasn’t announced the 2027 figure yet. Last year’s announcement came Nov. 14, when CMS set the 2026 standard premium at $202.90 a month, up $17.90, according to its fact sheet. Any increase for 2027 will eat into part of the 3.6% on the Social Security side. Your DFAS retired pay doesn’t change.
For Social Security, the SSA says anyone who wants to see the COLA notice online must create a my Social Security account by Nov. 18. Paper notices go out in December.
Retirees who are still working will notice another change from the same announcement. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security payroll tax rises to $192,300 in 2027, up from $184,500, according to the Social Security Administration. SSA said the 3.6% increase reaches nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries starting in January, while about 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income see it Dec. 31.
Where these numbers come from
- Social Security Administration: Cost-of-living adjustment information
- Military Times: Here’s the 2027 cost-of-living increase for retirees, veterans
- NGAUS: Retirees, veterans to get 3.6% COLA in 2027
- DFAS: Retired military pay
Featured image: Senior Airman Brenden Beezley / U.S. Air Force via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (cropped)
