Social Security's 2027 raise is coming — here's what it means for a family on SSI

On 11 September 2026, The Senior Citizens League — a nonpartisan group that tracks the inflation data the Social Security Administration uses to set its annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) — estimated the 2027 COLA at about 3.5%, among the larger increases projected in recent years. That percentage applies automatically to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the disability benefit that many autistic children and adults receive, not only to retirement checks. The Social Security Administration announces the official number on 14 October 2026, once September’s inflation report is in; independent estimates have moved before that announcement in past years, so treat 3.5% as a preview, not a fact.

The effect on your family depends on which side of 18 your child is on. Under 18, SSI is a household benefit: a child of any age — toddler through teenager — already receiving it because your family meets the income and disability tests sees their monthly payment rise by the same percentage, and the income limits that decide who qualifies rise too, which can open eligibility to families the old limits excluded. At 18, the rules change entirely: a young adult is assessed on their own disability and income, with a parent’s earnings no longer counted — which is why our transition-planning guide tells families to start that conversation near the birthday rather than assume a childhood benefit just continues.

Nothing changes on your bank statement yet. What is worth doing this week, at any age, is reading the SSI-and-SSDI section of our transition planning guide, and — if your teenager is approaching 18 — starting that benefits application early rather than after a coverage gap opens up.