The 2026 COLA Officially Confirmed

Official 2026 VA COLA Confirmed: 2.8%

The Social Security Administration (SSA) officially announced the 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) on Friday, October 24, 2025.

Detail	Official Figure
Official COLA Rate	$2.8\%$
Effective Date	December 1, 2025
First Increased Payment	January 1, 2026 (Paid on December 31, 2025)
Applies To	VA Disability Compensation ( $10\%$ rating and higher), DIC, and VA Pension

What This Means for Your Benefits

Direct Increase: Your monthly VA disability compensation will increase by $2.8\%$ beginning with your first payment in January 2026.
Automatic: This increase is automatic. You do not need to take any action or file any paperwork with the VA.
New Pay Charts: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is updating its official pay charts to reflect this $2.8\%$ increase.
Example (100% Single Veteran): A veteran receiving the 2025 rate of $\$3,831.30$ (100% rating, no dependents) will see their monthly compensation increase to approximately $\$3,938.58$ in 2026 (a boost of $\approx \$107.28$ per month).

The $2.8\%$ COLA will now be applied across the board to all eligible VA benefits, including Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) and additional compensation for dependents.

For more information visit SSA.gov.