Citing the shutdown, the Social Security Administration postponed its announcement of the annual payment bump beneficiaries will receive in 2026.

President Trump's tariff and trade policy is set to influence Social Security's "raise" for the upcoming year.

“The following examples apply if you earned the taxable maximum in each year beginning at age 22 and start receiving benefits in 2025,” it adds. “If you retire at full retirement age in 2025, your benefit would be $4,018. If you retire at age 62 in 2025, your benefit would be $2,831. If you retire at age 70 in 2025, your benefit would be $5,108.”

Case in point, in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed by the House on July 4, Social Security taxes were not eliminated. Instead, the bill introduced a temporary $6,000 tax deduction until 2028 with income-based eligibility limits.

The average Social Security benefit for retired workers was $2,005 in June 2025. That figure would increase to $2,059 in the event of a 2.7% COLA, meaning the average retired worker would collect an additional $54 per month next year. However, benefits vary widely across age groups, which means COLAs (as measured in dollars) will vary widely.