The COLA raises retired pay, SBP annuities and VA disability compensation each year, effective December 1. It sounds simple, but the first one after you retire is often smaller than everyone else's, depending on the month you retired.
These guides cover the 2027 increase, the math behind it, the month you retire, the dates the new amounts show up and what the 2027 pay raise does for anyone still in.
Your rank, years, VA rating and state, worked out after tax.
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It's official. Retired pay, SBP and VA compensation go up 3.6% on December 1, and an E-7 at 20 years gets $103 more a month. The pay increase chart by rank, a calculator for your own pension, the new VA rates, and what you get if you retired in 2026.
The inflation headline hit 4.2% in May, and the 2027 COLA came in at 3.6%. The COLA uses a different index, reads only July to September, and rounds to a tenth. The full formula step by step, checked against the index values in SSA's own notices.
Your first COLA shrinks for each quarter later you retire, and extra service usually makes up for it. What every 2026 retirement date pays once the first COLA lands, and the July 1 line that leaves retirees behind for life.
Every deposit date for military retired pay, SBP, VA disability and active duty through December 2027. Which months get two deposits, which get none, and the day the 2027 COLA first shows up.
Monthly basic pay for every grade, E-1 to O-10, at every year of service, with the 7-6-5 raise set for January 1. Projected from the official 2026 DFAS tables until DFAS publishes the 2027 tables in December, then switched over.
The 2027 COLA is 3.6%. Every VA disability rate from 10% to 100% for 2027, with a spouse, children and parents, what the same COLA adds to an E-7 pension, and when the first check arrives.
On August 26 the President set the 2027 raise at 7% for E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-3 and 5% for O-4 and up, effective January 1 unless Congress enacts a different figure. The Senate bill still says 3.6%. What the raise does to your High-3 retirement pay, and whether to retire before or after it.
The official 2027 COLA is 3.6%. How the forecast tracked it month by month through the summer, what drove it, and what it means for your monthly check.
See what you take home and the civilian salary it takes to match it.
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