Most military retirees will see their retired pay rise 3.6 percent, which is $36 more for every $1,000 of monthly pay, starting December 1. The increase is the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment, and it is applied automatically with no paperwork.
Stars and Stripes reported on October 14 that the 3.6 percent matches the figure required by law for military retirement pay. The Social Security Administration announced the same 3.6 percent the same day.
What 3.6 percent looks like on a pension check
The percentage is the whole formula, so the math is simple. A retiree who gets $1,000 a month will get $1,036. At $2,000 a month the raise is $72, at $3,000 it is $108, and at $4,000 it is $144. Those dollar amounts are straight arithmetic from the 3.6 percent.
The Defense Department’s military pay site says the annual cost-of-living adjustment under the Final Pay, High-36, Blended Retirement System and disability plans equals the year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. That index is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One group gets less. The same page says retirees under the REDUX plan normally get a COLA one percentage point lower, never below zero, and receive a one-time readjustment at age 62 to restore the difference. For those retirees, 2.6 percent works out to $26 per $1,000.
That is the answer for most retirees asking how much more the December check will be. Take the monthly retired pay, multiply by 0.036 and add it back. Anyone on REDUX should use 2.6 percent until the age-62 readjustment, and anyone unsure which plan covers them can look at their retired pay statement in DFAS myPay.
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When the raise reaches the account
Stars and Stripes reported that the effective date is December 1. It said veterans should expect the increase in VA disability payments on December 31 or in early January 2027.
Retired pay is paid by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Its retired military page said of the last COLA it described, the one effective December 1, 2019, that retirees saw the increase in their December 31, 2019 payment. Annuitants saw it on January 2, 2020. The page does not list 2027 pay dates.
The same DFAS page says the adjustment applies to most retired pay and Survivor Benefit Plan annuities, plus the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance. It points retirees with questions to the DFAS Customer Care Center, open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.
Why retirees and Social Security recipients get the same percentage
Military pensions and Social Security both carry permanent statutory language that lets the cost-of-living adjustment trigger automatically, Stars and Stripes reported. That is why both rise 3.6 percent. More than 8 million military retirees and veterans receive monthly benefit payments, the paper said.
The Social Security Administration’s October 14 announcement says the Social Security increase begins in January 2027 and raises the average retired worker benefit by about $75 a month. Increased SSI payments begin December 31, 2026. Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano said Social Security will implement the adjustment for 76 million Americans.
The National Guard Association of the United States made the same point in its October 14 report, noting that military retirees and veterans receiving disability benefits get the same COLA as Social Security recipients by law. It also noted that some retiree advocates question the CPI-W index used to calculate it.
Prices are rising almost as fast as the raise
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that September prices were 3.7 percent higher than a year earlier, up from 3.4 percent in August, according to Stars and Stripes. The 2027 raise is 3.6 percent, and the 2026 raise was 2.8 percent.
First Command Financial Services, a Texas firm that offers financial coaching to veterans, cautioned that a larger COLA is not necessarily a financial gain. A bigger adjustment can reflect higher prices for gas, groceries and other expenses.
Adam Jacob, a 48-year-old Marine Corps and Army veteran with a 100 percent VA disability rating, told the paper the COLA “never really keeps up with inflation.” Brett Martin, a retired Navy captain who heads the Oklahoma Veterans Commission, said on social media that “every additional dollar matters.”
VA disability checks need an act of Congress
Military retired pay does not depend on a vote, but VA disability rates do. Stars and Stripes reported that VA compensation rises by the same percentage only after Congress passes, and the president signs, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act, which the article links to Senate Bill 4487.
It cited CCK Law’s examples. A veteran at a 100 percent rating with no dependents would go from $3,939 to $4,080 a month, and one at 10 percent from $180.42 to $186.92. Retirees who also draw VA disability pay should expect the two raises on different tracks.
That is the last open piece for anyone with both a pension and a VA check. The retired pay increase is set. The VA increase waits on the bill, and the DFAS and VA statements will show which raise has arrived.
Is your December military retirement check ready for the 3.6 percent raise?
A raise set by a percentage is easy to check and easy to miss, and the VA side of a veteran’s income does not move until Congress acts. Retirees who also draw VA pay can lose track of which increase has arrived.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit includes the three VA pension levels, including Aid & Attendance, and how to file for free with VA Form 21P-527EZ. It also comes with a claim tracker, so retired pay, VA pay and any pending claim stay on one page.
Match the VA pension levels to a retiree’s pay in the Veterans Benefits Action Kit →
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This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
