COLA Ledger

An independent reference — not affiliated with the Social Security Administration. Every figure traced to the government publication that produced it.

A $1,200/month Social Security check after the 2026 COLA

Gross monthly benefit from January 2026

$1,233

+$33 a month gross. After the Part B premium, $1,030 lands — +$15 against 2025.

Gross increase
+$33+$396 a year
Medicare Part B
$202.90up $17.90
What actually lands
$1,030+$15 a month

The ledger, line by line

A $1,200 monthly benefit through the 2026 adjustment and the Part B premium
20252026Change
Gross monthly benefit$1,200$1,233+$33
Medicare Part B premium$185.00$202.90+$17.90
Net monthly payment$1,015$1,030+$15
Annual gross$14,400$14,796+$396
Annual net$12,180$12,360+$180

The raise you were told about, and the raise you got

The announced adjustment was 2.8%. Measured against what actually reaches the bank account, this benefit rose 1.48%. The difference is the Part B premium, which rose $17.90 at the same turn of the year and consumed 54.24% of the increase.

The same calculation run across the whole benefit ladder shows how sharply that share varies with the size of the check — it is not a fixed haircut.

Where $1,200 sits

SSA publishes the retired-worker population by monthly benefit amount in $100 bands. A $1,200 benefit falls in the 1,200.00-1,299.90 band, which holds 2,134,407 retired workers. About 20.9% of retired workers receive less than $1,200 a month. The published average retired-worker benefit in the same table is $1,975.34.

Why the ladder steps in $100

The step is the source data’s, not ours. SSA’s distribution table is published in $100 bands and no finer table exists, so the rungs follow the bands rather than being chosen to produce a page count. This is stated as a rule in the methodology.

Hold harmless does not bind here

The provision caps the Part B increase where the dollar adjustment is smaller than it. In 2026 that break-even sits at $639.29 a month of benefit, and this amount clears it, so the full standard premium of $202.90 applies. How the cap works, and where it binds.

Try your own amount

This runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, stored or logged — the whole calculation is the same engine that produced the table above.

General information, not financial, tax, legal or benefits advice. Figures show what published rates and formulas produce for the amounts you enter; your actual payment depends on your earnings record, claim age, withholding and Medicare status. COLA Ledger is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CMS or any U.S. government agency. Confirm your figures with SSA or your my Social Security account.

Gross after the COLA
$1,233+$33 a month
Part B premium
$202.90was $185.00
What actually lands
$1,030+$15 a month
Effective net raise
1.48%headline COLA 2.8%

The Part B increase consumed 54.24% of the raise. Over a year the gross rises by $396 and the net by $180.

See the full ledger page for a $1,200 monthly benefit — the nearest rung on the published benefit ladder.

Looking at 2027

Gross only — the new year’s Part B premium is not in these figures

SSA announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 on 14 October 2026. No 2027 Part B premium is used here. CMS announces it separately, on a date that varies from year to year, and this site does not estimate it — so no net 2027 figure is shown.

A $1,233 benefit through the announced 2027 adjustment — gross only
Amount
Gross from January 2027$1,277
Gross increase+$44
2026 net payment, for comparison$1,030

The 2027 Medicare premium is a separate announcement

CMS announces the following year’s Part B premium on its own schedule: it released the 2018 to 2026 premiums on dates from 27 September (the 2023 premium) to 17 November (the 2018 premium). No net 2027 figure is honest before it is published, and this site does not estimate one. The 2026 net of $1,030 is the comparison to hold in mind. When CMS announces it, year by year.

Common questions

Does a $1,200 benefit really only gain +$15 a month?

The gross benefit gains +$33 once the 2.8% adjustment is applied and floored to the whole dollar. The Part B standard premium rose from $185.00 to $202.90 over the same turn of the year, and that increase comes straight out of the payment. What lands is $1,030 against $1,015 — +$15 a month, or +$180 over the year.

Why is the raise 1.48% and not 2.8%?

The headline adjustment applies to the gross benefit. The premium is deducted after it, and the premium went up too. Measured on what actually reaches the bank account, the increase is 1.48% — the Part B increase consumed 54.24% of the raise.

Is the Part B premium the same for everyone?

No. $202.90 is the standard premium. Anyone whose 2024 modified adjusted gross income crossed the first income-related threshold pays more, on a six-tier ladder that runs to $689.90 a month. The figures on this page use the standard premium.

What happens to a $1,200 benefit in 2027?

SSA announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 on 14 October 2026. Applied to the 2026 gross of $1,233 and floored to the whole dollar, the gross benefit from January 2027 is $1,277. No 2027 Part B premium is used here. CMS announces it separately, on a date that varies from year to year, and this site does not estimate it — so no net 2027 figure is shown.

Nearby amounts and the rest of the ledger

Sources and freshness

Computed with the same engine that produces every figure on colaledger.com: benefits floor to the whole dollar after the adjustment, premiums are exact to the cent, and nothing is rounded twice.

Figures effective January 2026. Page figures last verified against the sources above on 15 October 2026. BLS data retrieved 15 October 2026. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after retrieval. Corrections: the correction log · support@inventum.com.au