2027 COLA After Medicare: What You'll Actually Keep

Every October the same question shows up in my inbox. "Did you see the raise?" Somebody always forwards the headline, usually with a couple of exclamation points on it. And every January I hear from women my age again, a little quieter this time, because the number that hit their bank account wasn't the number on the news.

So let's do the 2027 COLA after Medicare math now, before the letter shows up. The Senior Citizens League projects a 3.5% raise for 2027, and Social Security announces the official number on October 14. On a $2,000 check, 3.5% is about $70 a month. Medicare Part B comes out of that same check, and the trustees project the premium going from $202.90 to about $209.50. That takes your $70 down to roughly $63 before your other bills even get a vote.

I'm 57, so I'm still a few years out from Medicare myself. I pay attention anyway. The women I talk to every week are living this right now, and I'd much rather know the math before I need it than find out in January.

How the 2027 raise gets decided

The COLA comes from one inflation index, averaged over July, August and September. The September numbers come out the morning of October 14, and Social Security announces the new percentage the same day. The Senior Citizens League put its forecast at 3.5% as of mid-September, so that's the number I'm planning around.

For perspective, this year's raise was 2.8%. According to Social Security's 2026 fact sheet, that moved the average retired worker from about $2,015 a month to $2,071. So 3.5% would be a bigger bump than most people got last January. I'll take it. I just want you to see the whole receipt.

The new amount shows up in your January 2027 payment. Nothing changes in your October, November or December checks.

Your 2027 COLA after Medicare, by the numbers

If you're on Medicare and collecting Social Security, your Part B premium gets deducted before the money ever lands in your account. You don't write a check for it. It just quietly comes off the top.

The 2026 standard premium is $202.90 a month. The Medicare trustees project $209.50 for 2027, and MOAA's summary of the trustees report notes the official 2027 rates come out in November. So treat the $6.60 increase as a planning number for now. Here's how it plays out if both projections hold:

Notice who feels it most. Smaller checks do, because $6.60 is a much bigger bite out of a $52 raise than a $105 one. And if you pay a higher Part B premium because of your income, or your drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan raises its premium, your number drops again.

The part nobody tells you about the raise

The COLA follows a national average. The bills on your kitchen counter follow your insurance, rent or property taxes, prescriptions, and every little subscription that renewed while you weren't looking.

I learned that one the hard way. I've been running my own business for 25 years, and until about a year ago I was overpaying for almost everything. The first time I had ChatGPT go through my statements, it found $87 a month in subscriptions I wasn't even using. I wrote the whole thing up in my post on the hidden savings AI found me.

Sit with that number for a second. $87 a month is more than the entire projected 2027 raise on a $2,000 check. Which means for a lot of us, the fastest real raise is already sitting in our own statements.

What I'd do between now and January

You don't need a financial planner for this part. You need about an hour and your last few statements.

1. On October 14, take the official COLA and multiply it by your current check. Write that number down.
2. Subtract the Part B increase. Use $6.60 for now, then swap in the real number when it comes out in November.
3. Open the Annual Notice of Change from your drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan. If the premium or your drug costs are going up, Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, and changes start January 1.
4. Pull your last two months of bank and card statements and circle every recurring charge. Cancel what you don't use. Call about the ones that went up.
5. In December, log in to your my Social Security account and check your new January amount against the number you wrote down.

And if this whole topic makes your stomach tighten a little, I get it. I wrote about the retirement money fear because I was in the same place. Doing the math is what made it smaller for me.

Answering the October email

So this year, when "Did you see the raise?" lands in my inbox, I'm going to answer with a question of my own. Did you see the premium?

Because the 2027 COLA after Medicare is still a raise. It's just smaller than the headline, and it gets smaller again if your bills are quietly climbing. Do the math in October and January doesn't have to feel quiet.

If you want the full list of places I look for money after 50, grab my free Over-50 Money Stretcher here.

This isn't financial advice. The COLA and Part B figures above are projections as of September 2026 and will change when the official numbers come out.

Questions I hear about the 2027 COLA

When will the 2027 COLA be announced?

October 14, 2026. That's the morning the September inflation numbers come out, and Social Security announces the new percentage the same day. Forecasts right now sit around 3.5%.

When will I see the 2027 COLA in my check?

In your January 2027 payment. Your exact payment date depends on your birthday and when you started benefits. You can usually see the new amount in your my Social Security account in December.

Is the $209.50 Part B premium for 2027 final?

No. It's a projection from the Medicare trustees report released in June 2026. The official 2027 premium comes out in November, so plan with $209.50 and update your math when the real number lands.

Do I get the full COLA if I'm not on Medicare yet?

Yes. If you're collecting Social Security and you're not enrolled in Part B, nothing comes out of your check for it, so you keep the whole raise. Once Part B starts, the premium comes off the top every month.

Donna Valdes is a 57-year-old business strategist in Largo, Florida, with 25+ years in direct sales, operations and executive leadership. She restarted her business at 57 and writes about money, travel and building a next chapter after 50, with zero hype.