Social Security
What is Social Security?
The U.S. government program that pays retirement, disability, and survivor benefits funded by payroll taxes.
Understanding Social Security
Workers earn credits by paying Social Security taxes. Retirement benefits can start at 62, but are reduced if claimed before full retirement age, which is 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
Delaying beyond full retirement age increases benefits by 8% a year until age 70. Benefits are adjusted each year for inflation.
In 2026
Benefits rose 2.8% in January 2026 with the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), after 2.5% in 2025. The COLA is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Workers pay a 6.2% Social Security tax on earnings, matched by their employer, up to a wage cap. For 2026 the cap is $184,500, up from $176,100. The separate Medicare tax has no wage cap.