{"id":4032,"date":"2026-02-23T23:02:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/?p=4032"},"modified":"2026-02-23T23:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:02:58","slug":"social-security-announces-new-cost-of-living-adjustment-cola-checks-what-you-need-to-know-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/?p=4032","title":{"rendered":"Social Security Announces New Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Checks \u2013 What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"code-block code-block-3\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1861172\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Behind the headlines of a 2.8% COLA is a quieter reality: a system adjusting in inches while seniors face rising costs in miles. The average retired worker\u2019s benefit will move to about $2,071 a month, and couples, widows, and disabled workers will see similar modest gains. At the same time, maximum taxable earnings, disability thresholds, and earnings-test limits are all inching upward, changing how much you can earn before benefits are reduced.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1861172\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For many, that means planning matters more than the percentage increase. If you\u2019re still working, knowing the new earnings-test limits can prevent painful surprises when a dollar in benefits is withheld for every $2 or $3 you earn above the cap. If you rely on SSI, the slightly higher federal payment standard may offer a bit of breathing room, but strict resource limits remain. Now is the moment to check your projected benefit, review your budget, and watch for your December SSA notice so you understand exactly what this \u201craise\u201d really means for 2026.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Behind the headlines of a 2.8% COLA is a quieter reality: a system adjusting in inches while seniors face rising costs in miles. The average retired worker\u2019s benefit will move &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4034,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4032\/revisions\/4034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heightshowtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}