Note to editor (not for publication): Your flag was right. The 3.6% / 2.6% pairing matches the January 2012 COLA, so the source text looks like a recycled NARFE item. The 2026 COLA SSA announced is 2.8%. Under the diet COLA rule, that means CSRS, military retirees and Social Security get 2.8% and FERS gets 2.0%. I wrote to the 2026 figures. Confirm them against SSA and OPM before publishing. The 2.0% FERS figure follows from the statutory formula, but check it against OPM's COLA notice. The Part B premium and the average Social Security benefit also need a final check.
A FERS retiree drawing $4,000 a month gets an $80 raise in January 2026. A CSRS retiree drawing the same $4,000 gets $112. That $32-a-month gap is permanent. If later COLAs run at 2.5% for both groups, it adds up to roughly $13,100 over 25 years. The diet COLA doesn't just shave one year's raise. It lowers the base every future raise is calculated on.
The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment is 2.8% for Social Security, CSRS annuities and most military retirement pay. FERS annuitants get 2.0%.
By the Numbers
- 2.8%: COLA for Social Security, CSRS and military retired pay
- 2.0%: COLA for FERS annuitants (the diet COLA applies)
- 0.8 points: the gap between the two
- $384 a year: what that gap costs a FERS retiree with a $48,000 annuity, starting in 2026
- About $13,100: that same gap over 25 years, assuming 2.5% COLAs for everyone afterward
- December 1: effective date for annuities; the raise first shows up in January payments
How the COLA Works
Every one of these COLAs starts with the same number: the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Social Security Act (section 215(i), 42 U.S.C. 415(i)) compares the average CPI-W for July through September with the same quarter a year earlier. The percentage change, rounded to the nearest tenth, becomes the Social Security COLA. SSA announces it in October, after the September CPI release.
Other programs borrow that figure under their own statutes:
- CSRS: 5 U.S.C. 8340 ties annuity increases to the same CPI-W change. CSRS retirees get the full amount.
- FERS: 5 U.S.C. 8462 applies the diet COLA.
- Military retired pay: 10 U.S.C. 1401a uses the same CPI-W measure. Most retirees get the full amount.
The diet COLA formula
FERS retirees get the full COLA only when inflation is low. The rule has three bands:
| CPI-W increase | FERS COLA |
|---|---|
| 2.0% or less | Same as the CPI-W increase |
| 2.1% to 2.9% | Flat 2.0% |
| 3.0% or more | CPI-W increase minus 1 point |
At 2.8%, FERS lands in the middle band. The flat 2.0% is what FERS retirees got in 2025, when the full COLA was 2.5%. The bands matter. When inflation is high, FERS retirees lose a full point. When it's moderate, they lose less. When it's low, they lose nothing. In 2023, with an 8.7% COLA, FERS got 7.7%.
Who gets paid a COLA, and when
Most FERS retirees don't see a COLA until they turn 62. The exceptions are disability retirees, survivors, and special-provision groups such as law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and CBP officers. The FERS supplement, which bridges the gap to Social Security eligibility, never gets a COLA.
For annuitants, the COLA takes effect December 1 and first appears in the January payment. Social Security beneficiaries see it in the payment for December benefits, which arrives in January. If your annuity started during the past year, your first COLA is prorated by the number of months you've been retired.
A Worked Example
Take two retirees, each with a $4,000 monthly gross annuity before the COLA. One is CSRS. The other is FERS and over 62, so COLA-eligible.
CSRS retiree
- Annuity before COLA: $4,000
- Apply 2.8%: $4,000 × 0.028 = $112
- New annuity: $4,112 a month, or $49,344 a year
FERS retiree
- Annuity before COLA: $4,000
- Apply 2.0%: $4,000 × 0.020 = $80
- New annuity: $4,080 a month, or $48,960 a year
The difference is $32 a month, or $384 a year. Now stretch it out. Assume a 2.5% COLA every year after 2026, applied to both annuities. The gap starts at $384 and grows 2.5% a year, because the FERS base never catches up. Over 25 years, the CSRS retiree collects about $13,100 more.
That's a simplified comparison. In real life, FERS gets less than the full COLA in some years and the full amount in others. The mechanism still holds. Every point the diet COLA trims is gone for good.
Who Is Affected, and by How Much
CSRS retirees. They get the full 2.8%. On a $3,500 annuity, that's $98 a month, or $1,176 a year.
FERS retirees. On the same $3,500, the raise is $70 a month, or $840 a year. The diet COLA cost them $28 a month against the full adjustment.
Military retirees. Most get 2.8%. A retiree drawing $3,000 a month gets $84 more, bringing the check to $3,084. The exception is anyone under the old REDUX system who took the $30,000 Career Status Bonus. Their COLAs run one point below CPI-W (1.8% this year), with a one-time catch-up at age 62. Blended Retirement System retirees get the full CPI-W adjustment.
Social Security beneficiaries. On a $2,000 monthly benefit, 2.8% is $56. Medicare Part B premiums also rose for 2026, to $202.90 a month. For most beneficiaries that comes out of the check before the raise reaches the bank account. Retirees collecting both an annuity and Social Security get two different COLAs from two different agencies.
Federal retirees with both FERS and Social Security. They sit in the middle. The FERS annuity gets 2.0% and the Social Security benefit gets 2.8%, so the blended raise depends on how household income splits. A retiree with a $3,000 FERS annuity and a $2,000 Social Security benefit sees $60 plus $56, or $116 a month combined.
How to Estimate Your Own
Start with your gross monthly annuity or retired pay, before taxes, FEHB premiums or TSP withdrawals. Multiply by 0.020 for FERS, or by 0.028 for CSRS, military or Social Security. Add the result to your current payment.
Still working, and want to see how COLAs fit into your long-term retirement income? The FERS retirement calculator lets you model your annuity, supplement and Social Security together. Run it at 2.0% and again at 2.8% and watch the gap compound.
Don't forget withholding. A larger gross payment can nudge federal tax withholding up, so your net raise will come in below the headline number.
FAQ
Why does FERS get less than CSRS? Congress wrote the diet COLA into the FERS statute (5 U.S.C. 8462) when it created FERS. CSRS annuitants have no equivalent reduction.
Will FERS retirees ever catch up? No. The COLA is applied to the current annuity, so a smaller raise in one year permanently lowers the base. Nothing in current law restores it.
Do I get a COLA if I'm a FERS retiree under 62? Generally not. The exceptions are disability retirees, survivors, and special-provision groups including law enforcement, firefighters, air traffic controllers and CBP officers.
When is the next COLA announced? In October, after BLS publishes the September CPI-W. The calculation uses the July-September average compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
Does the FERS supplement get a COLA? No. The supplement is a bridge payment to Social Security eligibility age and isn't adjusted for inflation.
Bottom Line
The 2026 COLA is 2.8% for Social Security, CSRS and most military retirees, and 2.0% for FERS. On a $48,000 FERS annuity, the diet COLA costs $384 this year, and about $13,100 over 25 years if later COLAs match for both groups. Check your January payment against your own numbers. And assume the gap, once it opens, stays open.