How to use the federal COLA calculator
- Pick what you receive: a FERS or CSRS annuity from OPM, military retired pay from DFAS, or VA disability compensation. Each follows its own rule.
- Enter the monthly amount before deductions, the gross figure on your annuity statement or retiree account statement. Health and life insurance premiums and tax come out after the COLA.
- Answer the questions for your program: when your annuity began and, for FERS, which kind of annuity you have and whether you're 62 by December 1, 2026; for military pay, your retirement plan.
- Read the change at the top, and the note under it for any rule that applied to you (age 62, a prorated first COLA, the $1 minimum).
Nothing you enter leaves your device. Share result makes a link holding the numbers you entered, so only send it to people you'd tell.
The 2027 rates
Every rate comes from the same number: the consumer price index for urban wage earners (CPI-W), whose July–September average rose from 317.265 in 2025 to 328.746 in 2026, or 3.6% rounded to a tenth. What each program does with it differs.
| Program | 2027 COLA | Status, October 22, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| CSRS annuity | 3.6% | Announced by OPM; in the January 4, 2027 payment |
| FERS annuity | 2.6% | Announced by OPM; in the January 4, 2027 payment |
| Military retired pay (High-3, BRS, Final Pay) | 3.6% | Set by law from the CPI-W; paid December 31, 2026 |
| Military retired pay (CSB/REDUX) | 2.6% | The CPI-W rise minus 1 point |
| VA disability compensation | 3.6% | Matches Social Security; new rate table not yet published |
The FERS "diet COLA"
FERS annuities don't get the full CPI-W rise once it passes 2%. OPM's rule: up to 2%, the full rise; from 2% to 3%, a flat 2%; above 3%, the rise minus one point. CSRS always gets the full rise.
| CPI-W rise | CSRS COLA | FERS COLA |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| 3.6% (2026) | 3.6% | 2.6% |
On a FERS annuity that began by December 2025, that works out as follows (OPM rounds the new gross annuity down to the dollar):
| FERS annuity, 2026 | 2027 | Raise a month |
|---|---|---|
| $1,500.00 | $1,539.00 | +$39.00 |
| $2,500.00 | $2,565.00 | +$65.00 |
| $3,500.00 | $3,591.00 | +$91.00 |
| $5,000.00 | $5,130.00 | +$130.00 |
The age-62 rule and the first-year COLA
A regular FERS retiree gets no COLA until 62: if you're 61 on December 1, 2026, your annuity stays put this year. Survivor annuitants, disability retirees and those who retired under the special provisions for law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and Capitol Police get COLAs at any age; a disability annuity in its first year at the 60% rate gets none. The annuity supplement paid to FERS retirees under 62 never gets a COLA, so enter it in its own field. A FERS annuity with a CSRS component gets the CSRS rule on that part.
Your first COLA is prorated: one twelfth of the rate for each month your annuity was paid before December 1. These are OPM's percentages for the December 1, 2026 COLA:
| Annuity began | Months | CSRS | FERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 or earlier | 12/12 | 3.6% | 2.6% |
| January 2026 | 11/12 | 3.3% | 2.4% |
| February 2026 | 10/12 | 3.0% | 2.2% |
| March 2026 | 9/12 | 2.7% | 2.0% |
| April 2026 | 8/12 | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| May 2026 | 7/12 | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| June 2026 | 6/12 | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| July 2026 | 5/12 | 1.5% | 1.1% |
| August 2026 | 4/12 | 1.2% | 0.9% |
| September 2026 | 3/12 | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| October 2026 | 2/12 | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| November 2026 | 1/12 | 0.3% | 0.2% |
Whatever the percentage, OPM adds at least $1.00 a month when a COLA is due. Survivors of a retiree are prorated from the date the retiree's annuity began; children's annuities always get the full CSRS rate.
Military retired pay and VA compensation
Military retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities rise by the full CPI-W rise under High-3, BRS and Final Pay. Members who took the career status bonus (CSB/REDUX) get one point less until 62, when DFAS restores their pay to the High-3 amount once; the smaller COLA continues after that. If you retired during 2026, your first COLA is a partial one that depends on the quarter your retirement took effect; pick it in the calculator. The military retirement COLA page has the details.
VA disability compensation rises by the same percentage as Social Security every year. The VA disability COLA page estimates the 2027 rate table from VA's current one.
What reaches your bank account
The COLA raises your gross payment. If your health insurance premium rises in January, part of the raise goes to it, and tax withholding can rise too. If you also get Social Security, it rises 3.6% as well, but Medicare Part B comes out of it: the Social Security COLA calculator shows what's left, and the IRMAA calculator checks whether a higher-income surcharge applies. Mark the first raised payment on a printable calendar.
Sources, checked October 22, 2026: OPM, Annuity Payments: Cost-of-Living Adjustments, CSRS and FERS Handbook, chapter 2 and BAL 26-101; SSA, Latest Cost-of-Living Adjustment; BLS, CPI-W series CWUR0000SA0 and 2025 lapse in appropriations: impact on the CPI; 10 U.S.C. 1401a; DFAS, CSB/REDUX; VA, Current disability compensation rates.