Your 2027 Social Security Raise Is Automatic. Scammers Are Offering to 'Activate' It Anyway

What happened: Social Security benefits go up 3.6 percent in 2027, and scammers have already turned the raise into bait. On Oct. 21, the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the agency's fraud watchdog, warned about calls, texts, emails, letters and social media messages from people posing as Social Security who offer to "activate" the increase or make it bigger, usually in exchange for a fee or your bank details.

What this means for you: You don't have to do a thing. The raise is automatic. Nobody needs a payment, a "processing fee" or your direct deposit information to switch it on, so a message that asks for any of those to get your raise is a scam. If you'd like to see your new amount early, create a free my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount and sign up for online notices by Wednesday, Nov. 18.

The details

The 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, came out on Oct. 14. It's the biggest yearly raise since January 2023, when benefits rose 8.7 percent. On average, retirement benefits go up $75 a month.

The bigger payments start on two different dates:

Some people get both, and the two groups together add up to 76 million Americans.

Your new amount arrives in a notice. People with a my Social Security account who have chosen paperless notices can read theirs online starting in late November, in the account's Message Center. That's up to three weeks before the paper version would show up. Everyone else gets the notice by mail in December. This year's notice is simplified, with your exact new benefit and the date it starts, plus any deductions such as a Medicare premium. If you're on Medicare, the 2027 premium amount also appears in the Message Center starting in late November.

Did you know? Raises weren't always automatic. Before 1975, benefits went up only when Congress passed a special law. The first automatic raise, in July 1975, was 8.0 percent, and the biggest ever came in July 1980 at 14.3 percent. There was no raise at all in 2010, 2011 or 2016.

Each year's raise is set by a formula written into the Social Security Act. It's tied to a government inflation measure called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). No phone call, form or fee changes it.

How the raise scam works

Scammers know millions of people are waiting to hear about their raise this month, so they show up first. The approach changes, but the OIG's list of red flags covers most of it:

A cousin of this scam promises to "boost," "unlock" or "maximize" your benefits for an upfront payment. The OIG's Sept. 21 alert on those offers is blunt: "SSA does not offer to increase benefits in exchange for money." Benefit amounts are calculated by law from your earnings record and a few other factors. They aren't negotiated over the phone. Most of these pitches are really after your personal details or bank account number.

The math also gives it away. A raise you have to pay for isn't a raise.

Retirees are the obvious target, but people on disability benefits or SSI get the same increase and the same scam calls. So do the grown kids who help manage a parent's account.

What to do now

1. Leave it alone. Your raise shows up in your January 2027 payment, or on Dec. 31 if you get SSI, without any action from you.
2. Hang up or delete. If a message about your raise asks for money or personal information, stop there. Don't tap its links or call back the number in it.
3. Check with Social Security directly. Call 1-800-772-1213 yourself, or type ssa.gov into your browser instead of tapping a link. To find any other agency's real contact information, start at America.gov.
4. Set up my Social Security by Nov. 18. Go to ssa.gov/myaccount, create an account and choose paperless notices so your COLA notice appears online in late November. You can also turn on text or email alerts that tell you when a new message is waiting. It also helps you spot changes you didn't make.
5. Keep your direct deposit where it is. If someone on the phone tells you to switch it to get the raise, that's the scam.
6. Report it. Go to ssa.gov/scam, or call the OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271 (TTY 1-866-501-2101), Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET.
7. If you already paid or shared bank details, call your bank or card company at the number on the back of your card, then report the scam at ssa.gov/scam.

If you help a parent with their benefits, give them one line to remember: the raise comes on its own. The OIG puts the rule this way: "SSA will never call to offer increased benefits in exchange for information or a fee from the claimant or beneficiary."

The real notice fits on a single page and shows your new benefit in exact dollars.

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References

• Social Security 2027 COLA Announced: Beneficiaries Are Not the Only Ones Looking Forward to the COLA (SSA OIG, Oct. 21, 2026)
• Don't Pay for Promises of Increased SSA Benefits (SSA OIG, Sept. 21, 2026)
• Social Security Announces 3.6 Percent Benefit Increase for 2027 (SSA, Oct. 14, 2026)
• Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information for 2027 (SSA)