6 Things North Carolinians on Social Security Should Do Before the 3.6% Raise Hits in January

If you get Social Security, your payment goes up 3.6% in January, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Oct. 14.

SSA’s inspector general says the raise is automatic.

But these are the things North Carolinians on Social Security should do before the 3.6% raise hits in January.

Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or insurance advice. Benefit rules and dollar amounts are subject to change, so confirm the current details with SSA.

1. Enrolling in Paperless Notices

Social Security will send you a notice about the 3.6% raise, which SSA calls a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

If you have an account on SSA’s my Social Security site, you can view your notice online starting in late November.

That’s up to three weeks earlier than a paper notice.

If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to create one and enroll in paperless notices by Nov. 18 to see your notice online.

People who haven’t enrolled in paperless notices will receive the notice by mail in December.

2. Comparing Medicare Plans

With Social Security’s raise due in January, Medicare open enrollment is your window to change plans for 2027, from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

During that stretch, you can join, drop, or switch a Medicare Advantage plan.

Any plan you pick starts Jan. 1.

North Carolina’s Department of Insurance runs the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), which provides free counseling on Medicare Advantage, drug coverage, and supplements.

To reach a counselor, call 855-408-1212.

3. Lowering Your IRMAA Surcharge

Many people have their Medicare Part B premium deducted from their Social Security payment, so a higher premium leaves you less of the raise.

SSA says the 2027 premium amount will be available in the Message Center on its my Social Security site starting in late November.

If your income is higher, you pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) on top of your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums.

IRMAA is based on the most recent federal tax return the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides, which for 2026 amounts was generally the 2024 return.

If you or your spouse have stopped working or cut your hours since the year on that return, it can overstate your income.

That’s one of the life-changing events that lets you ask for a new decision, along with marriage, divorce, and the death of a spouse.

You can fill out and submit Form SSA-44 online after you sign in.

Send documents that show both the event and the drop in income, such as a death certificate or an employer’s retirement letter.

4. Setting Tax Withholding

Combined income decides whether part of your Social Security benefit is taxable, and the raise adds to it.

Once combined income passes $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000 for a couple, part of your benefit can be taxed.

North Carolina's Department of Revenue says the state doesn't tax Social Security benefits, so any tax you owe on them is federal.

To have federal tax taken out of each payment, you can sign in to your account and choose to withhold 7%, 10%, 12%, or 22%.

You can set a rate by phone at 1-800-772-1213.

The paper route is Form W-4V.

Withholding isn't required, and you can instead pay the IRS directly through estimated tax payments during the year.

5. Finding Your Payment Date

Your January Social Security payment may arrive before January.

If you started Social Security before May 1997, or you get Supplemental Security Income (SSI), your January payment arrives Dec. 31.

Most other people who get Social Security are paid on a Wednesday that depends on your birthday.

Jan. 13 is your date if your birthday falls on the 1st through the 10th.

If your birthday falls on the 11th through the 20th, Jan. 20 is the day.

Jan. 27 covers birthdays on the 21st through the 31st.

Federal law requires benefit payments to arrive electronically, through Direct Express or direct deposit into your bank account.

If you've switched banks, signing in to your account is the fastest way to update your direct deposit.

The phone option is 1-800-772-1213.

6. Ignoring Fake COLA Letters

Any letter telling you to call and activate your Social Security raise is a fake.

The raise is automatic, according to SSA's inspector general, so there's nothing to activate.

An alert dated December 2021 described fake letters that told recipients to call a toll-free number to activate an increase.

The alert says to hang up immediately or ignore a suspicious call, text, email, or letter.

Report suspected Social Security scams at oig.ssa.gov.

Average Benefits, Before and After

For an average retired worker, Social Security's raise lifts the estimated January 2027 benefit from $2,095 to $2,170.

That's $75 more each month, or $900 over a year.

A couple with both partners collecting goes from $3,238 to $3,355.

If you're a widow or widower collecting alone, the average moves from $1,936 to $2,005.

Disabled workers average $1,642 before the raise and $1,701 after.

If you get SSI, the federal payment standard rises from $994 to $1,029 a month for an individual, and from $1,491 to $1,544 for a couple.

North Carolina by the Numbers

You're one of many: 2,385,531 people in North Carolina collected Social Security benefits in December 2025.

Your neighbors' benefits that month totaled about $4.6 billion.