About 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income will see a higher payment for the first time on December 31, 2026. Social Security says the 3.6 percent cost-of-living increase lifts the federal monthly SSI rate to $1,029 for an individual, up from $994, and to $1,544 for a couple, up from $1,491.
The new SSI rates and the date
The agency’s 2027 cost-of-living announcement says increased payments to about 7.3 million SSI recipients “will begin on December 31, 2026.” The same page counts 76 million Americans who get Social Security or SSI and puts the increase at 3.6 percent. The rates themselves are in Social Security’s table of SSI federal payment amounts: $1,029.00 for an eligible individual and $1,544.00 for an eligible couple in 2027, against $994.00 and $1,491.00 this year. The table notes that SSI amounts are effective for January, so the December 31 deposit is the January payment arriving at the end of the year.
That is a raise of $35 a month for an individual and $53 for a couple, or $420 and $636 over a full year. Social Security benefits rise in the same announcement, but retirement and disability checks reach most people in January, and the agency’s blog post on the increase puts the average retirement raise at about $75 a month.
Why $1,029 is a ceiling, not the check
The $1,029 figure is the most the federal program pays. What lands in a bank account depends on the household’s countable income, so the question for anyone on SSI is what the December 31 deposit will be once that income is counted, and whether any income has changed since the last report to Social Security.
A $35 raise is easy to lose when income has moved since the last report. The SSI & Disability Action Kit lays out the 2026 SSI income and resource limits and the review and reporting steps that go with them.
Get the SSI limits and reporting steps in the Disability Action Kit →
How countable income cuts the payment
Social Security’s SSI income rules spell out the steps: subtract the income that does not count from gross income, then subtract what is left from the federal rate. The agency’s own examples use this year’s $994 rate. A person with a $300 Social Security check has $280 of countable income after the first $20 is set aside, so the SSI payment is $714. A person with $317 in wages has $116 counted, after the $20 and $65 exclusions and half of the rest, and receives $878.
Run the same examples at $1,029 and the payments become $749 and $913. In both, the full $35 passes through, because the person’s countable income did not change. Anyone who earns more, collects a pension, or gets help with housing costs sees a smaller payment than the table suggests.
When a Social Security raise takes some of the SSI raise back
Some people get both Social Security and SSI, and for them the two increases interact. Social Security’s own cost-of-living adjustment counts as unearned income. Take the agency’s $300 example: a 3.6 percent increase adds roughly $11 to that check, which pushes countable income up by the same amount and trims the SSI portion by about $11. The person’s combined monthly income still rises by the full $35, but only about $24 of it shows up as SSI, and the rest arrives in the Social Security deposit.
The reverse holds for people with no other income: the whole increase comes through SSI. Households that mix the two should expect the SSI amount on the first deposit to be a little lower than a quick subtraction from the old figure would suggest, and not read that as a mistake.
Savings matter as much as income. Social Security’s resource rules set the limit on countable resources at $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, and SSI is not payable for a month when a person starts it above that line. The home a person lives in and one vehicle used for transportation are among the items that do not count.
Notices and what to keep on hand before the first deposit
The announcement says online COLA notices will appear in the Message Center of people’s my Social Security accounts in late November, for most beneficiaries who created an account by November 18, 2026. People who are not signed up for online notices get a mailed notice in December, according to the agency’s blog post.
Before the December 31 deposit, set the notice beside the last SSI award letter and the most recent pay stubs, benefit letters and bank statements. A gap between the notice and the deposit is a gap in countable income, and Social Security’s toll-free line, 1-800-772-1213, is where a recipient asks about it.
Checking the first higher payment against countable income
Start with the number on the notice. Social Security’s rate table gives the ceiling, and the income rules page shows how to work down from it. Write out the sum for the household: gross income, minus the $20 general exclusion, minus the $65 earnings exclusion and half of the remaining wages if anyone works, then subtract that from $1,029 for an individual or $1,544 for a couple.
Gather the award letter, every benefit statement, pay stubs for the last few months, and statements for each bank account. A balance near $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple is the number to watch. If the deposit and the sum disagree, the first call is to Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, with the notice in hand, before spending the difference.
The $1,029 rate shrinks with every dollar counted
A household that treats the rate as the check can budget for more than the deposit delivers. The SSI & Disability Action Kit puts the 2026 SSI income and resource limits and the review and reporting steps in one place, with an income and resource organizer for tracking what counts against the rate.
Track what counts against the $1,029 rate with the SSI organizer and reporting steps →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
