For millions of Americans who rely on Social Security disability benefits (SSDI), the new year will bring a modest but crucial increase to their monthly checks. Starting in January 2026, a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will raise payments—an attempt by the system to keep disability income from falling behind rising food, housing, and medical costs.
This increase, automatically calculated based on inflation data (using the CPI-W consumer price index), provides a small respite for a vulnerable population that often lives on an extremely tight financial margin.
Your 2026 SSDI Check Is Getting a Boost
The new figures, published by the Social Security Administration (SSA), paint a concrete picture of this relief. The average SSDI recipient, who currently receives about $1,586 a month, is estimated to see their check increase to approximately $1,630.
For families where the disabled worker has a spouse and dependent children, the average family payment will rise from $2,857 to about $2,937. In the parallel Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, designed for adults and children with disabilities and limited resources, individual payments will increase from $967 to $994, and payments for couples will rise from $1,450 to $1,491.
Find out that these are national averages; the actual 2.8% increase will be applied to each person’s exact individual benefit amount, a figure the SSA will communicate privately later this year.
Is the Next COLA Increase Enough for SSDI Recipients?
This 2.8% increase, however, doesn’t come without a price. For many beneficiaries and advocates, it’s a double-edged sword. While any increase is welcome, it’s often perceived as too little, too late. Inflation in recent years, particularly on key items like gasoline and groceries, has aggressively eroded purchasing power.
Advocacy organizations like The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) have repeatedly documented how, over the past two decades, COLA increases have lagged behind the actual expenses of older adults and people with disabilities, especially for medical costs not covered by Medicare.
The 2.8% increase for 2026, while positive, is significantly lower than the historically high adjustments of 8.7% in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024, showing a cooling of overall inflation that doesn’t necessarily translate into lower prices at the store.
January SSDI Payment Dates
The SSA payment schedule for January 2026 is now set and follows its usual pattern based on birthdate, with a few important exceptions due to holidays. The vast majority of SSDI (and retirement) recipients will receive their increased payment on a Wednesday.
Those born between the 1st and 10th of the month will see the deposit on Wednesday, January 14. For those born between the 11th and 20th, the date is Wednesday, January 21. And those with birthdays between the 21st and 31st will receive their payment on Wednesday, January 28.
There are two exceptions to this schedule. The first affects SSI beneficiaries. Because January 1 is a federal holiday, their January payment is routinely moved up and will be issued on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
The second exception is for a group the SSA refers to as “pre-May 1997 beneficiaries,” who traditionally receive their payments on the 3rd of each month. Because January 3, 2026, falls on a Saturday, this group will receive their payment on Friday, January 2.
