Social Security COLA for 2004: 2.1%
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment set in 2003 was 2.1%, effective with benefits payable for December 2003 and received from January 2004. A $1,000 monthly benefit went up to $1,021.
How it compares
Of the 52 adjustments since 1975, this one ranks number 39 by size. The one before it was 1.4%. The next was 2.7%.
What it adds up to since then
Apply every adjustment from this one through the 3.6% increase for 2027 in turn, and a benefit grows by a factor of 1.86. A benefit of $1,000 a month just before this increase would be about $1,863 a month in 2027.
How COLAs are set
Since 1983 each adjustment has been based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the year before to the third quarter of the current year, and has taken effect with the benefit payable for December.
The newest is the 3.6% increase for 2027. See what it adds to your check and every adjustment since 1975 on the same page.
Check our work
Every figure on this page was read from these official documents. Follow the links and compare.
- Cost-of-Living Adjustments, 1975 to dateSocial Security Administration. Read on November 12, 2026.