The 2026 Social Security COLA Is 2.8% — Here's What Retirees Actually Take Home After Medicare

By now, you’ve already received a few Social Security checks with the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) included. The 2.8% bump was a little above average, compared to the last few decades, but you still may not be happy with it.

While more money is always nice, rising costs are eating up most, if not all, of the COLA gains. Here’s a closer look at how much the average senior actually has to spend after paying for Medicare.

The average Social Security benefit is $2,075 per month

The average Social Security benefit jumped from $2,013 for benefits payable in December 2025 to $2,071 for benefits payable in January 2026. That $58 increase was largely driven by the 2026 COLA. The average benefit has continued to creep up slightly and now sits at $2,075 per month for benefits paid in February.

However, that money doesn’t all belong to you. Most seniors on Medicare also have their Part B premiums withheld from their Social Security checks, so they don’t have to pay a separate bill. That means the average take-home benefit is less than the amount shown above.

The typical Part B premium was $185 in 2025 but jumped to $202.90 per month in 2026 — a nearly 10% increase. After subtracting that from the $2,075 average check, the typical senior has about $1,872 left to cover their other costs.

It’s worth noting that Medicare has a hold-harmless provision that prevents your Social Security checks from decreasing due to a premium increase. As a result, you’ll never get less than you were receiving the year prior. But some people might not have noticed any increase in their checks in 2026 due to this Medicare increase.

If that’s not enough, you could lose even more of your checks to Social Security benefit taxes on the federal and state levels. This could cost you thousands of dollars when you file your tax return.

What this means for retirees

Your Social Security checks will still cover a decent chunk of your monthly expenses, but you’ll fare far better if you have other sources of retirement income to fall back on. This could be a job, a pension, or personal savings.

You’ll also want to prepare yourself for future Medicare increases that could offset some or all of your future COLAs. The government generally announces Medicare cost increases in the fall, around the same time it announces next year’s COLA. Once it’s shared this information, you can start building a new budget for the following year.