Tonight's US September CPI will determine the 2027 Social Security
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Annual COLA equals the YoY change in the
average CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) in Q3 (Jul–Sep).
BLS data show CPI-W at 327.104 in July (+3.4% YoY) and 328.481 in August (+3.5%
YoY); September CPI-W will complete Q3 and fix the final COLA. Latest
projections put the 2027 COLA near 3.5% versus 2.8% in 2026, potentially the
largest increase in three years. A Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal survey of
Economists forecast September CPI rising 3.6% YoY.
