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Most recently updated firstOct14
Social Security's Next Raise: From the 2.5% COLA to the 2027 Announcement
Social Security’s 2025 COLA was 2.5%, followed by a 2.8% increase for 2026 and a 3.6% increase announced for 2027. The 2027 adjustment, which raises the average retirement benefit by about $75 a month, follows a year in which forecasts moved with CPI-W data from 2.8% to as high as 3.9% before converging near the final figure.
Oct14
How the Social Security COLA Is Set: From the 1973 Law to the Third-Quarter CPI-W Formula
Social Security benefit increases were once set through separate acts of Congress. Amendments enacted in 1973 made cost-of-living adjustments automatic and tied them to inflation, with the first automatic 8.0 percent increase payable in June 1975.
Oct14
Medicare Advantage's Retreat: From the 2026 Rate Hike to the 2027 Plan Exits and Open Enrollment
CMS raised Medicare Advantage payments 5.06% for 2026, then launched an every-contract annual RADV audit strategy aimed at unsupported risk-adjustment diagnoses. The audit effort has been constrained by a court ruling vacating the extrapolation rule, and CMS has not yet decided whether to collect extrapolated payment-year 2024 overpayments.
