Military retirees and disabled veterans will receive 2.8% increases to their monthly paychecks for 2026, thanks to the annual Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, tied to inflation.
The 2.8% raise for 2026 is up from 2.5 % in 2025 after a string of raises as high as 8.7% in 2023.
The Social Security Administration announced the COLA increase Friday. Most government disability and retirement payments must, by law, go up annually by the same amount to account for the rate of inflation.
Read More: See Your 2026 VA Disability Pay Rates
The Department of Labor determines the annual COLA by measuring the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, a measurement of a broad sampling of the cost of consumer goods and expenses. The CPI is compared to the previous year; in the event of an increase, there is a COLA. With no increase, there is no COLA, and benefits remain the same -- they don't decrease.
Military Retirees
For 2026, retired military members will receive a $28 increase for each $1,000 of military retirement pension they receive each month.
Retirees who entered military service on or after Aug. 1, 1986, and opted for the Career Status Bonus (CSB/Redux retirement plan) will have any COLA increases reduced by a percentage point, so they will receive a smaller increase of $18 per $1,000 in 2026.
Survivors receiving Survivor Benefit Plan payments will receive increases to their payments by the same amount as retirees.
Service members retiring in 2025 will receive a slightly reduced COLA in 2026. Their COLA is prorated based on the quarter of the year in which they retired (January-March, April-June, etc.). The prorated amount may also adjust based on when a member entered the service and which retirement plan they elected.
Disabled Veterans and Survivors
Disabled veterans will also receive increases to their benefit payments in the upcoming year. VA disability checks will go up about $4.91 per month for those with a 10% rating and $107.28 for those rated at 100% who don't have dependents.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, or DIC, benefits for surviving spouses of disabled veterans also increase by 2.8% in 2026.
Other Federal Retirees and Beneficiaries
Military retirees and VA beneficiaries aren't the only ones who benefit from the COLA increase. Civil Service retirees and Social Security recipients will also receive the 2.8% bump in their monthly checks.
For Social Security recipients, the increase will mean about an extra $57 per month for a typical retiree, according to the administration.
Related: Here's the 2025 Pay Raise for Vets and Military Retirees
