Social Security trust fund depletion is not the headline here, but the Social Security Administration’s Oct. 14 COLA announcement is. The Department of Veterans Affairs is set to lift veterans’ disability compensation by 3.6% in 2027 if Congress passes the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act.
More than 6 million veterans who currently receive disability compensation from the VA would see higher monthly payments. A veteran with a 10% disability rating would go from $180.42 to $186.92, while a veteran with an 80% rating, one child and a spouse would rise from $2,406.15 to $2,492.77.
Social Security Administration Oct. 14
The Social Security Administration said the 2027 COLA is 3.6%, the largest increase in four years. The adjustment is based on Consumer Price Index for urban workers averages for July, August, and September 2026 compared with the same months in 2025.
Because federal law links VA disability benefits to the Social Security COLA, the same percentage is set to carry over to VA compensation if Congress approves the adjustment. That link covers compensation for wartime disability, compensation for dependents, clothing allowances for eligible disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.
Congress and the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act
Congress must pass the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act before the VA can make the increase official. The VA has not published 2027 compensation benefits rate tables, so current rate tables remain the way beneficiaries can estimate their monthly changes.
The math is straightforward for readers trying to gauge their own payment. A 3.6% increase adds $6.50 to the $180.42 monthly payment for a 10% rating, and it adds $86.62 to the $2,406.15 monthly payment for the higher-rated veteran with a spouse and child.
The biggest changes will land with veterans who have higher disability ratings and eligible dependents, since the increase applies across those added benefit amounts as well. For families using Aid and Attendance benefits for spouses or receiving additional amounts for children, the final monthly total could rise further under the same percentage adjustment.
The VA 2027 rate tables
The practical next step is not a new claim filing but waiting for the law to move. Until Congress acts, the 3.6% increase remains a projected adjustment tied to the Social Security COLA, and the VA cannot issue its official 2027 payment tables.
For veterans who already receive disability compensation, the key number is 3.6%, and the key question is whether Congress passes the adjustment act in time to lock it in for 2027. If it does, the higher monthly checks should follow the same inflation measure used for Social Security benefits.
