Senate Democrats recently introduced legislation that would expand monthly Social Security benefits in 2026 to millions of Americans.
If passed, the Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act would provide relief to Americans living on a fixed income by:
Providing a $200 per month emergency increase to Social Security checks until July 2026.
Support all Title II Social Security beneficiaries, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, Railroad Retirement beneficiaries, veteran disability compensation, and veteran pension benefit annuitants.
The bill aims to give relief after the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 2.8% was announced in October. The 2026 federal retiree COLA will be 2.8 percent for those under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and 2.0 percent for those under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
SEE: 2026 COLA Announced
The 2026 adjustment is a slightly larger than the 2025 COLA, which was 2.5 percent for CSRS retirees — but the same for those under the FERS retirement system
The bill was introduced by senators Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR, and Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
To read the full text of the proposed bill, go here.