The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for VA disability compensation is not set independently by the VA. Under 38 U.S.C. § 5312, veterans' disability compensation rates are required to increase by the same percentage as the Social Security COLA each year. So the number you see applied to your disability check is actually the Social Security Administration's COLA figure, not a separate VA calculation.
The Social Security COLA is calculated using a specific measure: the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W. Specifically, the Social Security Administration compares the average CPI-W for the third quarter (July, August, September) of the current year to the average CPI-W for the third quarter of the previous year. The percentage difference between those two averages becomes the COLA for the following January.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →This is different from the inflation figures most commonly reported in the news, which are usually based on the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), often reported as a year-over-year or month-over-month change using a different reference period. CPI-W and CPI-U track overlapping but not identical sets of goods and services, and they weight categories like housing, transportation, and medical care somewhat differently because they represent different population samples. It is common for CPI-W and CPI-U to land close to each other but not match exactly, which is likely the source of the discrepancy people are noticing between the announced COLA and the headline inflation rate reported elsewhere.
In short, the COLA percentage is not a VA policy decision and is not something the VA can adjust upward to match a different inflation figure. It is a statutorily mandated pass-through of the official Social Security COLA, which itself is tied to a specific CPI-W measurement window that will not always align perfectly with the broader inflation numbers quoted in media coverage.
There is no appeal or claims action associated with the COLA calculation itself, since it applies automatically and uniformly to all compensation and pension recipients. A veteran wanting to understand the exact math behind a given year's COLA can review the Social Security Administration's published COLA fact sheet, which breaks down the CPI-W comparison used for that year's adjustment.
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