Social Security checks for about 123,000 Alaskans will rise 3.6% starting in January

The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that benefits will rise 3.6% in 2027, the largest cost-of-living increase since 2023. About 123,000 Alaskans draw Social Security.

For the average retired worker, that's $75 more a month, from $2,095 to $2,170, according to the agency's national estimates. The average for aged couples rises to $3,355, for widows and widowers living alone to $2,005, and for disabled workers to $1,701.

How much more people actually see depends on next year's Medicare Part B premium, which is deducted from many checks and hasn't been released yet.

The increase begins with January benefits. Increases since 2023's 8.7% have been smaller: 3.2% in 2024, 2.5% in 2025 and 2.8% in 2026.

In December 2025, 123,083 Alaskans received Social Security, about 1 in 6 residents and 86% of those 65 or older, according to the agency. Most, 95,859, were retired workers. Together they received $235.5 million that month.

That month, 10,166 Alaskans received Supplemental Security Income. The federal SSI payment rises from $994 to $1,029 a month for an individual and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple, starting with the Dec. 31 payment. The announcement doesn't say whether Alaska's Adult Public Assistance supplement for SSI recipients will change.

People enrolled in paperless notices by Nov. 18 will see their new amounts in their my Social Security accounts in late November. Others will get a letter in December.