FERS COLA 2027 (Cost-of-Living Adjustment) for Federal and Military Retirees

2027 COLA by Retirement System

The 2027 COLA is 3.6% for Social Security, CSRS annuities and military retired pay. Eligible FERS annuities and Career Status Bonus (CSB) retired pay, often called REDUX, get 2.6%. VA disability compensation has no 2027 figure until the annual COLA act becomes law.

The Social Security figure tracks the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), according to the SSA fact sheet. The 3.6% reflects the CPI-W increase from the third quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026. FEDweek and Federal News Network report 3.6% for CSRS annuitants and 2.6% for eligible FERS annuitants.

CSRS annuitants and military retirees outside the CSB/REDUX group get the 3.6% in full. FERS annuitants get 1 percentage point less, and only if they meet the age rule or an exemption. The 2027 Social Security COLA guide shows what the 3.6% adds to Social Security checks.

Why the FERS COLA Is 2.6% in 2027

FERS annuities rise 2.6% because 5 U.S.C. 8462 subtracts 1 percentage point from any price-index increase above 3%. The statute sets three tiers:

• A change of 2% or less raises the annuity by the full change.
• A change above 2% and up to 3% raises the annuity by 2%.
• A change above 3% raises the annuity by the change minus 1 percentage point.

The 2027 change is 3.6%, which lands in the top tier. The top tier gives 3.6% minus 1 point, or 2.6%.

The same formula gives different results at other rates. At a 2.5% change, a FERS annuity would rise 2%, a gap of 0.5 point. At a 1.8% change, a FERS annuity would rise the full 1.8%.

CSRS annuities under 5 U.S.C. 8340 carry no such subtraction, which is why CSRS retirees get the full 3.6%. The FERS annuity supplement gets no COLA at all, according to Federal News Network. Only the FERS annuity itself rises.

The FERS Age-62 Rule and Its Exemptions

A FERS annuitant who was under age 62 on December 1, 2026 does not get the 2027 COLA unless one of the exemptions in 5 U.S.C. 8462 applies. The statute exempts three groups from the age rule:

• Annuitants who retired on disability
• Special-provision retirees covered by the statute, such as law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers
• Survivor annuitants, who get the increase

An annuitant in any of those groups gets the 2.6% effective December 1, 2026. An annuitant outside those groups who was 62 or older on that date also gets the 2.6%.

A regular FERS retiree who was 60 on December 1, 2026 gets no 2027 increase on the annuity. The age test applies on each December 1 effective date. The 60-year-old retiree's first FERS COLA comes on the first December 1 on which the retiree is 62 or older. Your own result depends on two facts: your age on December 1 and your retirement type.

CSRS COLA and First-Year Proration

CSRS annuitants get 3.6% for 2027 under 5 U.S.C. 8340, with a smaller first increase for recent retirees. The statute raises each CSRS annuity every December 1 by the percent change in the price index for the base quarter, which ends September 30. The change is rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a percent.

A retiree's first increase is prorated at 1/12 of the percent for each month the annuity was payable before the increase. Proration stops at 12 months, so an annuity payable for a full 12 months gets the whole 3.6%. Only the first increase is prorated under the statute.

Take an annuity first payable 6 months before December 1, 2026. The retiree's first increase is 6/12 of 3.6%, which equals 1.8%. An annuity payable for 3 months gets 3/12 of the increase, or 0.9%.

Military Retirement COLA for 2027

Military retired pay rises 3.6% for 2027, effective December 1, 2026, under 10 U.S.C. 1401a. The statute ties the increase to the Consumer Price Index for the base quarter ending September 30, rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a percent. CSRS uses the same base quarter.

Military Times gives the example of a military retiree receiving $2,500 in retired pay, who would see about $90 more per month. The math is $2,500 multiplied by 0.036, which equals $90.

Retirees who first became members on or after August 1, 1986 and elected the Career Status Bonus, the REDUX group, get a smaller raise. Their COLA is the price-index percent minus 1 percentage point whenever that percent exceeds 1%. For CSB/REDUX retirees, 3.6% minus 1 point equals 2.6%.

To estimate retired pay under your own service record, use the military retirement calculator. For the tax treatment of disability retired pay, read the guide on whether military disability retirement pay is taxable.

VA Disability Compensation and the Pending COLA Act

VA disability compensation has no automatic COLA, so its 2027 increase depends on Congress passing the annual Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act. The Senate version this year is S. 4487, introduced on May 11, 2026 and referred to a Senate committee. S. 4487 would raise three payments by the same percentage as the Social Security COLA:

• VA disability compensation
• Dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC)
• The clothing allowance

The bill's increase would take effect December 1, 2026. With the Social Security COLA at 3.6%, enactment would mean a 3.6% increase for those payments. Military Times reports that veterans' benefit recipients are slated for the 3.6% COLA.

As of October 14, 2026, S. 4487 had not been signed into law. VA has published no 2027 rate table, so no 2027 dollar amounts for VA compensation are available. You can follow the bill's progress on its Congress.gov page.

If you receive both retired pay and VA compensation, the military retirement vs VA disability comparison covers how the two payments differ.

When the 2027 Increase Shows Up

Federal annuity COLAs take effect December 1, 2026 and appear in payments made in January 2027, according to FEDweek and Federal News Network. That timing applies to both the 3.6% CSRS increase and the 2.6% FERS increase.

The 3.6% military retired pay increase is effective December 1, 2026. VA compensation changes only after this year's COLA act becomes law. If S. 4487 is enacted as introduced, its effective date is December 1, 2026.

The 2027 Social Security changes guide covers the other 2027 Social Security updates.

What to Check on Your Own Payment

Your 2027 increase depends on your retirement system, your retirement type and, under FERS, your age on December 1, 2026. Work through these steps first:

1. Match your payment to its row in the table above: Social Security, CSRS, FERS, military retired pay, CSB/REDUX or VA compensation.
2. Under FERS, note whether you were 62 or older on December 1, 2026, or retired on disability or under special provisions.
3. Under CSRS, if this is your first increase, count the months your annuity was payable before December 1, 2026. Multiply 3.6% by that count, then divide by 12.
4. Multiply your current monthly payment by 0.036 for a 3.6% raise. Use 0.026 for a 2.6% raise.
5. For Social Security, read your COLA notice or sign in to my Social Security.
6. For VA compensation, wait until S. 4487 or this year's COLA act becomes law before counting on a new rate.

Once you have applied the FERS COLA for 2027 to your monthly annuity, enter the new amount in the pension calculator.

Frequently asked questions