A Spousal Benefit Gets the Full 3.6% COLA in 2027. It Still Tops Out at Half of Your Spouse’s Check

Many seniors are very excited about the upcoming Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. In 2027, benefits are set to rise by 3.6%. That’s a much larger increase than the 2.8% COLA that took effect in early 2026. It’s also Social Security’s largest COLA in several years.

If you collect spousal benefits from Social Security, you may be wondering if your monthly checks are eligible for a COLA. And the answer is yes. Come January, you should see your spousal benefits increase by 3.6%, the same way people collecting Social Security on their own records get that boost.

But it’s important to recognize that even though Social Security spousal benefits are eligible for annual COLAs, you’re limited in what you can collect. And if your retirement plan is to get by on a spousal benefit from Social Security alone, you may need to rethink it.

Social Security spousal benefits have a hard cap

When you’re claiming Social Security based on your own earnings record, there’s a big incentive to wait past full retirement age (FRA), which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, to sign up. For each year you delay your claim beyond that point, up until the age of 70, your benefits increase by 8%.

But those delayed retirement credits do not apply to Social Security spousal benefits. If you’re claiming benefits on a current or former spouse’s record, the maximum amount of Social Security you can receive is 50% of their primary insurance amount, or the amount they’d receive at their FRA.

You can collect your maximum spousal benefit if you file at your FRA. But you can’t snag a boost by waiting.

Now the spousal benefit check you start out with isn’t automatically the same one you’ll receive for life. As mentioned above, Social Security spousal benefits receive an annual COLA, just like other benefits, which means you can expect modest increases over time.

Also, if you’re eligible for spousal benefits and your spouse passes away before you do, the Social Security Administration will typically bump your spousal benefits up to survivor benefits. Survivor benefits are equal to 100% of your current or former spouse’s benefit.

Make sure you know the rules

When it comes to Social Security, different benefits have different rules. It’s important to understand how spousal benefits work so you can incorporate them into your retirement plans.

It’s also important to recognize that spousal benefits are capped. If you’re claiming spousal benefits on an ex’s record, those monthly checks alone probably won’t be enough to cover your expenses in full. In a situation like that, you should make sure you have access to other income, whether it’s retirement savings you withdraw from or a paycheck from a job, so you don’t end up struggling financially.

It’s one thing to rely on spousal benefits if you’re married, because at least then, your spouse is collecting a larger monthly Social Security check and you have two different benefits to share. But if you’re single in retirement, you should not expect a spousal benefit alone to cut it.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.