Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Updates for 2026

by Jesse Shirek

From the Editor: Jesse Shirek is a Government Affairs Specialist on our Advocacy and Policy team, and Social Security is one of his core areas of work. Here is his annual update on changes to benefits coming in the new year:

On October 24, 2025, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a 2.8 percent cost-of-living increase for 2026, and as you may expect, we have our traditional end-of-year updates for your review.

Annual Adjustments to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Programs

In 2026, approximately seventy million Americans will see a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in their benefit amounts. Thus, come January, monthly checks will be higher. The 2026 amounts are below, along with some general concepts pertaining to the Social Security and Medicare programs, in case you want to better understand or refresh yourself about your rights. The COLA is based on the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of inflation against the wages earned by approximately 173 million workers across the nation over the previous four quarters starting with the third quarter of the previous year.

Tax Rates

FICA and Self-Employment Tax Rates: If you are employed, you know that you do not bring home everything you earn. For example, 7.65 percent of your pay is deducted to cover your contribution to the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds and the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Funds: 6.2 percent covers OASDI, and 1.45 percent is contributed to the HI Trust Fund. Additionally, your employer is required to match this 7.65 percent for a grand total of 15.3 percent.

For those who are self-employed, there is no “employer” to match the 7.65 percent, which means a self-employed individual pays the entire 15.3 percent of their income. These numbers will not change in 2026 regardless of whether an individual is employed or self-employed. In 2026, individuals with earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes; this does not include the above amounts.

Maximum Taxable Earnings

There is a ceiling on taxable earnings for the OASDI Trust Fund, which was $176,100 in 2025 and will increase to $184,500 in 2026. Thus, for earnings above $184,500, there is no 6.2 percent deducted for OASDI. As for Medicare, there is no limit on taxable earnings for the HI Trust Fund.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Quarters of Coverage

The OASDI Trust Fund is kind of like an insurance policy; you have to pay a premium to participate. Therefore, to qualify for Retirement, Survivors, or Disability Insurance benefits, an individual must pay a minimum amount of FICA taxes into the OASDI Trust Fund by earning a sufficient number of calendar quarters to become fully insured for Social Security benefits.
In 2025, credit for one quarter of coverage was awarded for any individual who earned at least $1,810 during the year, which means that an individual would need to earn at least $7,240 to be credited with four quarters of coverage. In 2026, the amount increases to $1,890 for one calendar quarter or $7,560 to earn four quarters of coverage for the year.

A maximum of four quarters can be awarded for any calendar year, and it makes no difference when the income is earned during that year. Basically, the taxes you pay into the OASDI and HI Trust Funds are your premiums to take part in the Social Security and Medicare programs. The total number of quarters required to be eligible for benefits depends on the individual’s age. The older the individual is, the more quarters are required. Furthermore, a higher average income during an individual’s lifetime means a higher Social Security or SSDI check when benefits start. Remember that the above quoted numbers for quarters of coverage to become fully insured are only minimum amounts.

Trial Work Period (TWP)

This concept is often misunderstood. The amount of earnings required to use a trial work month is not based on the earnings limit for blind beneficiaries but instead on the national average wage index. In 2025, the amount required to use a TWP month was only $1,160, and this amount will increase to $1,210 in 2026.

If you are self-employed, you can also use a trial work month if you work more than eighty hours in your business, and this limitation will not change unless expressly adjusted.

Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)

The earnings limit for a blind beneficiary in 2025 was $2,700 per month and will increase to $2,830 in 2026. Again, it is important to remember this is not the amount of money an individual makes to use a trial month. This is to say that the TWP can be exhausted even if your income is well below $2,830 per month. See the above information about the TWP.

In 2026 a blind SSDI beneficiary who earns $2,830 or more in a month (before taxes but after subtracting un-incurred business expenses for the self-employed, subsidized income for the employed, and impairment-related work expenses) will be deemed to have exceeded SGA and will likely no longer be eligible for SSDI benefits.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

The standard federal monthly payment amount for individuals receiving SSI was $967 in 2025 and will increase to $994 in 2026. For married couples, the standard federal monthly payment amount of SSI will increase from $1,450 to $1,491.

Student Earned Income Exclusion

In 2025, the monthly amount was $2,350 and will increase to $2,410 in 2026. The annual amount was $9,460 in 2025 and will be $9,730 in 2026. The asset limits under the SSI program will remain unchanged at $2,000 per individual and $3,000 per married couple. If you find yourself approaching the SSI asset limit, I urge you to continue reading the next section regarding ABLE Accounts.

If you have questions related to your SSI and SSDI benefits or if you are seeking help, contact Jesse Shirek by phone at 410-659-9314, extension 2348, or by email at [email protected].

ABLE Act

The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act has a significant impact on resource limits associated with the SSI and Medicaid programs for people who became blind or disabled by the age of forty-six, as of January 1, 2026. Prior to 2026 a person needed to become blind before age twenty-six to qualify for an ABLE Account. To learn more about the exciting opportunity created by the passage of the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, which was supported by the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind, please watch for an informative article in a subsequent issue of the Braille Monitor. Historically, SSI beneficiaries have been required to adhere to strict resource limits, such as a maximum of $2,000 in the bank for an individual receiving SSI benefits. However, under the ABLE Act, the amount held in an ABLE Account can be much higher than the two-thousand-dollar resource limit. ABLE Account contributions must be designated specifically for purposes such as education, housing, employment training and support, assistive technology, health, prevention and wellness, financial management, legal fees, and funeral and burial expenses. Check with your financial institution of choice for the status of ABLE Act regulations in a specific state and to see if an ABLE Account is right for you.

It is important to note that SSI beneficiaries should consider the many other purposes not subject to the traditional resource limits when making ABLE Account contributions, since there are also tax advantages associated with ABLE Accounts. If you are seeking out more information about ABLE Accounts, you can reach out to Government Affairs Specialist Jesse Shirek at 410-659-9314, extension 2348. Alternatively, visit https://www.abletoday.org/.