The beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are the first who will notice the 3.6% COLA confirmed this Wednesday by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The maximum federal payment rises to $1,029 a month for an individual in 2027.
SSI is a needs-based program for people who are 65 or older, blind or disabled and have very limited income and resources. It is funded by general tax revenue, not by Social Security payroll taxes, and more than 7 million people receive it.
New SSI amounts for 2027
The federal payment standard, which is the maximum amount SSI pays before any reduction for other income, will be the following:
- Individual | from $994 to $1,029 a month (+$35).
- Eligible couple | from $1,491 to $1,544 a month (+$53).
Many recipients receive less than the maximum because SSI is reduced by other income. For example, a person who also collects a small Social Security check sees the SSI amount lowered after the first $20 of that check. We explained how this works in our article about receiving SSI and Social Security together. Some states also add a state supplement on top of the federal amount.
The first increased payment arrives on December 31
SSI is paid on the 1st of each month, but when that day falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the money is deposited on the previous business day. January 1, 2027 is New Year’s Day, so the SSI payment for January will be deposited on Thursday, December 31, 2026.
That deposit will already include the 3.6% COLA. This means SSI recipients will receive two payments in December: the regular one on Tuesday, December 1, and the January payment on December 31. It is not an extra check, but an early deposit of the following month.
What recipients need to do
Nothing. The increase is applied automatically. SSA will send each recipient a notice with the new amount, and those with a my Social Security account can see it online before the letter arrives.
The resource limits do not change with the COLA: they remain at $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, the same figures that have been in place since 1989.
Before January, there is still one more date to mark: SSI recipients will get their November payment early, on Friday, October 30, because November 1 falls on a Sunday. The schedule is similar to what happened in the summer, when payments restarted on September 1 with SSI.
