Technologies

2026 Social Security COLA Predictions: How Much More Money Will You Get Next Year?

What will the 2026 COLA be? Here’s what the experts are predicting.

As we near the official 2026 COLA announcement from the Social Security administration, recipients are wondering how much more they will receive in their monthly payments next year. We’re still a few months out before we have an official answer, but you don’t have to wait until the expected October announcement to get some insight.

Experts in the field have been making predictions for the 2026 COLA since the beginning of this year, and an initial prediction of a 2.1% bump next year has been followed by a slight shift upward month by month. Whether these expert takes will match the official number remains to be seen — especially with the economic uncertainty spurred by the Trump administration’s tariffs agenda — but we’ll break down the latest for you below.

I’ve been steeping myself in all things Social Security for the past year, writing timely articles that surface the most relevant details for existing and soon-to-be beneficiaries and their families. Even if, like me, you’re a long way from retirement, staying up to date with expert takes will keep you informed for when it’s time for you or your loved ones to retire. The COLA adjustment will be one of the most important announcements of the year.

For more, don’t miss the Social Security and SSDI cheat sheet.

What is the COLA?

The cost-of-living adjustment, otherwise known as the COLA or COLA increase, is an annual change in the payment scale made by the Social Security Administration. It’s pegged to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which measures the average changes in prices for consumer goods and services and is updated monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These monthly snapshots in the changes to prices of goods and services allow the SSA to see the overall average and determine the COLA for the following year as a percentage of the current payment levels.

For Social Security and Supplemental Security Insurance recipients, the COLA percentage represents how much more you’ll receive in monthly benefits in the new year. It takes effect Jan. 1 and stays in effect for the calendar year.

The official COLA announcement typically takes place sometime in October.

Some are not happy with how the COLA is calculated

How the COLA is calculated has become a hot topic, given that the model sets the adjustment for the entire year ahead.

The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group for older adults, last year conducted a study of 3,000 older adults. A key takeaway: 72% of respondents said that Congress should prioritize changing the COLA calculation to an index that’s more reflective of the changing expenses for seniors, like the CPI-E.

Government benefits that are affected by the COLA

There are multiple government benefits that use the COLA to make adjustments. In addition to Social Security, the adjustment applies to Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to account for inflation when setting benefits.

Expert predictions for the 2026 COLA increase

The League provides monthly predictions of the upcoming COLA for the following year, and they were spot on for 2025, predicting a 2.5% COLA.

In January, the League predicted a 2.1% increase for 2026 and has adjusted that upward since then. In May 2025, the prediction was pushed to 2.4%. The prediction came after the recent executive order by the Trump administration, targeting pharmaceutical companies and pushing for cheaper drug costs.

Its latest prediction, released last month, bumped the COLA to 2.5%. Each prediction for the past four months has been raised slightly, and we may get a new prediction from The League any day now.

COLA Increases 2020 — 2025

Year	COLA Increase	% change vs. the previous year
2025	2.50%	-0.70%
2024	3.20%	-5.50%
2023	8.70%	2.80%
2022	5.90%	4.60%
2021	1.30%	-0.30%
2020	1.60%

For more, don’t miss the Social Security and SSDI cheat sheet.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.