The Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) for social security benefits and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirement annuities in 2026 will be 2.8 percent. This will take effect in January.

The annual COLA is meant to keep federal retirees’ and Social Security recipients’ benefits on pace with rising inflation. The 2026 CSRS retiree COLA is based on the third quarter (July, August, September) average CPI-W index in 2025 over the 2024 third quarter average.

Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) retirees will therefore receive a 2 percent COLA in 2026, based on federal law. The current calculations are as follows:

• COLA is more than 3 percent: FERS annuitants receive 1 percent less than the full COLA
• COLA is between 2 percent and 3 percent: FERS annuitants receive a 2 percent COLA
• COLA is less than 2 percent: FERS annuitants receive the full COLA

The 2023 COLA was at 8.7 percent, the largest annual adjustment in more than 40 years. However, the 2024 COLA was less than half that figure (3.2 percent), followed by 2.5 percent this year.

FMA has endorsed the Equal COLA Act (H.R. 491 / S. 624), to give FERS retirees the same COLA as CSRS retirees. Freshman Representative James Walkinshaw (D-VA) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) are the lead sponsors of the legislation, which has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, respectively.