Editor's note (not for publication): Please verify before publishing. The source text refers to January 2026 payments, but my understanding is that SSA announced a 2.8% COLA for 2026, not 3.6%. A 2027 COLA wouldn't be announced until fall 2026. Check the figures and year against SSA and OPM, and add the year to the lede once confirmed. The article below attributes everything to NARFE and avoids stating a year.
Federal retirees, military retirees and Social Security beneficiaries are getting a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment, while FERS annuitants will see 2.6%, NARFE News reports.
Key Facts
- CSRS annuities: 3.6% COLA
- Military retirement pay: 3.6% COLA
- Social Security benefits: 3.6% COLA
- FERS annuities: 2.6% COLA
- NARFE reports the increases take effect with January payments.
Why FERS Is Lower
The gap comes from the "diet COLA" rule in federal law. When the inflation measure used for the COLA rises more than 3%, FERS retirees receive that figure minus one percentage point. A 3.6% increase therefore yields 2.6% for FERS.
CSRS annuitants, military retirees and Social Security recipients get the full adjustment.
What It Means For You
- CSRS retirees: A $3,000 monthly annuity would rise by about $108, to roughly $3,108.
- FERS retirees: The same $3,000 annuity would rise by about $78, to roughly $3,078.
- Military retirees: Retired pay increases by the full 3.6%, matching the Social Security adjustment.
- Social Security recipients: Benefits rise 3.6%. Retirees who receive both a federal annuity and Social Security will see both adjustments.
FERS COLAs generally apply only to retirees age 62 and older. Exceptions include disability retirees, law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and survivor annuitants. Employees who retire before 62 under the standard FERS provisions typically see their first COLA the year they reach that age.
Future retirees can use a FERS retirement calculator to estimate how COLAs and the FERS formula affect their annuity over time.
Context
COLAs are tied to inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Social Security, CSRS and military retirement all use the full CPI-W-based figure. FERS annuities use the reduced figure when inflation exceeds 2%.
Retirees should watch for official notices from the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel Management and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Those notices will list exact new payment amounts.
Source: NARFE News