Social Security plans to mail paper notices showing each person’s new 2027 benefit amount in early December, weeks after an online version becomes available. The agency’s message to the public says people who sign up for paperless notices can see theirs in late November.
The notices carry the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, which Social Security puts at 3.6 percent. For a retiree waiting to learn exactly what the January deposit will be, the order of those two dates decides who finds out first.
When does each kind of notice arrive?
Social Security’s announcement on the 2027 notices gives two timings. People who receive paperless notices can view the cost-of-living notice in the Message Center of their online account starting in late November. Everyone else is on the paper schedule, which the agency says is early December.
The agency has not published a specific mailing day, only the month and the phrase “early December.” Mail takes days to arrive, so the paper notice may reach some households well after the online version is posted.
What is the November 18 date?
To see the notice online, a person has to set up a my Social Security account and enroll in paperless notices by November 18, 2026, the agency says. That is four weeks from today. A person who is not enrolled by then stays on the paper schedule.
The online account is set up on the my Social Security page. For anyone who wants to know the new amount before the mail arrives, the question is simple: is the account open and is paperless turned on before November 18? Anyone who answers no to either part is on the paper schedule and will wait for the envelope.
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Anyone who already has an online account can check whether paperless notices are turned on. The notice posted in the Message Center is the same cost-of-living notice that everyone else will receive by mail, only earlier.
The dates Social Security has given run in this order:
- November 18, 2026: last day to have the online account and paperless notices in place to see the notice online.
- Late November: the cost-of-living notice appears in the Message Center for paperless enrollees.
- Early December: Social Security mails the paper notices.
- December 31, 2026: SSI payments begin to rise.
- January 2027: the 3.6 percent increase takes effect for Social Security benefits.
What does the 3.6 percent increase mean for the new amount?
Social Security says benefits will increase 3.6 percent in 2027, effective in January 2027. SSI payments rise earlier, starting December 31, 2026, according to the agency. On a $2,000 monthly benefit, a 3.6 percent increase adds $72 before any deductions, although the exact new amount depends on each person’s benefit and on what is withheld.
The notice is where that final figure appears, and it is worth keeping once it arrives. A retiree at $1,500 a month would see $54 added at 3.6 percent, and one at $2,500 would see $90, which is why the agency’s percentage alone does not tell a household its own number.
Why does the early December timing matter?
For households on a tight budget, the gap between late November and early December is the difference between planning January’s bills with the new number or with the old one. Someone who is not enrolled in paperless notices by November 18 will plan around last year’s amount until the envelope arrives.
People without a computer or a smartphone are on the paper schedule by default. For them, the early December mailing is the date to watch, and the agency has named no day inside that month.
The agency’s own account is the free route to the figure. Anyone who has not decided about paperless notices has until November 18, and the next step is to confirm that the account works before then.
Waiting on the new 2027 amount?
A household that misses the November 18 paperless cutoff waits for an envelope in early December, and the January budget may be built on last year’s number until it arrives.
The Social Security Check Protection Kit includes the 2026 payment calendar, which shows when Social Security money arrives, so the new 3.6 percent amount can be matched to the right deposit once the notice shows up.
Get the payment calendar for the 2027 benefit notice in the check protection kit →
More Financial Reading
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- 15 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
