A bill pending in Congress would lift the lowest monthly VA disability rate from $180.42 to $186.92. The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026 (S. 4487) would give veterans the same 3.6% raise that Social Security recipients get for 2027. It becomes real only if Congress passes it and the president signs it, and neither has happened.
The $186.92 figure is the rate for a veteran with a 10% disability rating and no dependents, the lowest on the VA’s pay chart. Today that veteran gets $180.42 a month, set December 1, 2025. If the bill is enacted, the new amount would start December 1, 2026, according to Stars and Stripes.
The bill is not close to the finish line. It is in the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, where it was sent on May 11, 2026, and the committee’s public schedule lists no vote on it. Anyone on VA disability pay, and surviving spouses and children who receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), is now waiting on a vote that has to come before the December 1 start date means anything.
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Where S. 4487 stands
S. 4487 is a Senate bill. It was introduced May 11, 2026, by Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, then read twice and referred to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, according to the government’s published bill record. That referral is the latest action listed, and the bill has not passed the committee or the full Senate.
It has wide support. Fifteen senators from both parties have signed on as cosponsors, including Richard Blumenthal, John Boozman, Patty Murray, Thom Tillis and Bernie Sanders. Support does not move a bill by itself, though, and a committee has to act first.
A House version, H.R. 8552, was introduced April 28, 2026, by Rep. Morgan Luttrell of Texas and sent to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The House committee’s public calendar shows a subcommittee markup on June 30 but does not list the bills on that agenda. Neither chamber has sent a COLA bill to the president.
What the new rates would look like
The bill ties the raise to the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. That adjustment is 3.6% for 2027, announced October 14 by Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. The same percentage would be applied to every VA amount the bill covers.
For the 10% rating, $180.42 times 1.036 comes to $186.92. A veteran rated 100% with no dependents now gets $3,938.58 a month, and Stars and Stripes reports that figure would rise to about $4,080. The bill also covers extra pay for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and DIC for surviving spouses and children, per the bill text.
Why Congress has to vote every year
Social Security and military retirement pay get their raises automatically. VA disability pay does not. Stars and Stripes reports that it lacks the permanent legal language those programs have, so Congress has to pass a new COLA bill each year.
The bill would also require the VA to publish the adjusted dollar amounts in the Federal Register by the deadline set under the Social Security Act. Veterans would not have to file anything. If the bill is enacted, the increase should show up in VA payments on December 31 or in early January 2027, Stars and Stripes says.
The Social Security side is already set. About 72 million beneficiaries see their 3.6% raise in January 2027, and about 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) get theirs starting December 31, 2026, per the Social Security Administration. Veterans who also draw Social Security get that raise whether or not the VA bill moves.
A raise that trails prices
Many veterans say the yearly bump does not feel like a raise. Adam Jacob, 48, who holds a 100% VA rating for post-traumatic stress disorder and a back injury, told Stars and Stripes the COLA “never really keeps up with inflation.” Prices in September were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
First Command Financial Services, a Texas firm that advises military families, warns that a bigger COLA often reflects higher prices rather than a real gain. For a veteran at the 10% rating, the proposed raise is $6.50 a month.
The official monthly amounts stay on the VA’s disability compensation rates page. Those are the numbers in effect now, and they change only after a bill is signed.
What to watch before December 1
The next signal is whether the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee schedules a vote. The House could also act on H.R. 8552 first. The current Congress runs into January 2027, and the December 1 date is written into the bill.
For now, the VA’s current rates are the only ones that count. Veterans and survivors who budget on the higher number before the bill is signed would be counting on money Congress has not approved. Will the vote come in time?
Waiting on Congress for the December 1 VA raise?
A COLA vote that slips past December 1 leaves low-income wartime veterans and widows budgeting around a raise that has not been signed. Many also never learn that the VA pension, a separate needs-based benefit, may pay more than a 10% disability rating does.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit lays out the three VA pension levels including Aid & Attendance, and it shows how to file for free (VA Form 21P-527EZ), with the pension-poacher warning signs and a claim tracker to keep dates straight.
Get the VA pension levels and free filing checklist for a wartime veteran or widow →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
