US Pensions and Social Security Today (November 26, 2025): Final November Checks, 2026 Benefit Changes and Retirement Age Rules Explained

On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the last wave of November Social Security payments lands in U.S. bank accounts, just as major 2026 rule changes, new legislation in Congress, and fresh pension funding data reshape the retirement conversation across America. ^[1]

Here’s a clear look at what’s happening right now and what it means for your pension, Social Security check, and retirement age planning.

Key takeaways for November 26, 2025

Final November Social Security checks are paid today to retirees and other beneficiaries whose birthdays fall between the 21st and 31st of any month. ^[2]
A 2.8% Social Security COLA takes effect in January 2026, lifting the average retired worker’s benefit to about $2,071 per month, roughly $56 more than in 2025. ^[3]
Medicare Part B premiums will jump to $202.90 in 2026, the first time they’ve crossed $200 a month—absorbing a good chunk of that COLA increase. ^[4]
Full retirement age (FRA) for people born in 1960 or later is 67, and rumors of a new law raising it to 75 are false; there’s talk, but no such change has been enacted. ^[5]
A new bipartisan “Claiming Age Clarity Act” would change how the Social Security Administration labels claiming ages, nudging people toward better-informed decisions about when to take benefits. ^[6]
The Social Security Administration has formally dropped a controversial plan to tighten disability eligibility for older workers, after intense pushback from advocates and lawmakers. ^[7]
Public pension funds are in their strongest shape since Milliman began tracking them, with the 100 largest plans now 86.3% funded and nearly half over 90% funded. ^[8]
Senate Democrats have introduced the “Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act,” S.3078, which would temporarily add $200 a month to Social Security and related benefits for six months in 2026—but it’s only a proposal for now. ^[9]

Final November Social Security checks land today

Today’s payment is the third and final round of November 2025 Social Security checks. If your birthday falls between the 21st and 31st, your retirement, survivor, or disability benefit is scheduled for Wednesday, November 26. ^[10]

For November 2025, the SSA payment calendar looks like this for people who started benefits after May 1997: ^[11]

Nov 12, 2025 – Birthdays on the 1st–10th
Nov 19, 2025 – Birthdays on the 11th–20th
Nov 26, 2025 – Birthdays on the 21st–31st

Other key November/December dates:

Early SSI payment for November went out October 31, because Nov 1 is a Saturday.
December 1, 2025 – Regular SSI payment for December.
December 31, 2025 – Early SSI deposit counted as the January 2026 payment, not a bonus. ^[12]

How much are people getting?

The exact amount depends on your lifetime earnings and the age you claimed benefits, but current figures are:

Average retirement benefit (2025): about $2,008 per month for retired workers. ^[13]
Maximum monthly benefit in 2025:
- Claim at 62: up to $2,831
- Claim at full retirement age (67): up to $4,018
- Delay to 70: up to $5,108 ^[14]

For many households, Social Security isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s the core of their monthly budget. That’s why dates like November 26 matter so much: missing or delayed deposits can instantly affect rent, utilities, and groceries.

2026 Social Security changes: more money on paper, tighter rules in practice

1. 2.8% COLA—and what it really feels like

The Social Security Administration has confirmed a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026. That’s higher than 2025’s 2.5% bump but still modest compared with the big increases earlier in the decade. ^[15]

What that means:

Average retired worker benefit rises from roughly $2,015 to $2,071 a month—about $56 extra. ^[16]
COLA also applies to survivor benefits, disability benefits (SSDI), family benefits, and SSI. ^[17]

On paper, that looks decent. In practice, some of that bump is eaten up before you ever see it in your account.

2. Medicare Part B premiums cross $200 for the first time

The standard Medicare Part B premium will rise from $185.00 to $202.90 per month in January 2026—a 9.7% jumpand the first time Part B has ever topped $200. ^[18]

For most people:

That’s $17.90 more per month in premiums, deducted directly from their Social Security checks.
A typical retiree may see a $56 COLA increase, but nearly a third of that could vanish into higher Medicare premiums before the deposit hits. ^[19]

3. Higher payroll tax cap for workers

If you’re still working and paying into Social Security, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the 12.4% Social Security payroll tax (split between employer and employee) climbs to $184,500 in 2026, up from $176,100 in 2025. ^[20]

You’ll pay Social Security tax only on wages up to that cap.
Income above that threshold isn’t subject to Social Security tax, but it also doesn’t boost your future benefit.

4. A new tax break for people 65+—and a small hit to the trust fund

Starting with the 2026 tax year, a new federal tax deduction of up to $6,000 becomes available for many taxpayers 65 and older, thanks to a provision in the big “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed earlier this year. ^[21]

In simplified terms:

Qualifying older adults with low to moderate incomes may be able to reduce or erase federal tax on their Social Security benefits.
The deduction is temporary (through 2028) and is estimated to trim Social Security’s tax revenue by about $168.6 billion over 10 years, bringing trust-fund depletion forward by roughly six months (from early 2033 to late 2032). ^[22]

Even with that change, Social Security’s trustees still project that benefits would continue beyond 2034, but at a reduced level if Congress doesn’t act. ^[23]

5. Earnings test thresholds are moving

If you claim Social Security before full retirement age and keep working, the earnings test can temporarily reduce your check.

In 2026, the thresholds will be: ^[24]

Before FRA:
- You can earn up to $24,480 from work.
- Above that, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 you earn.
In the year you reach FRA (before your birthday month):
- The limit rises to $65,160.
- Above that, $1 is withheld for every $3 you earn.

Once you hit full retirement age, the test goes away; SSA recalculates and gradually increases your benefit to account for the months that were withheld.

6. Earning credits toward future benefits

To qualify for retirement benefits at all, you need 40 Social Security credits, usually earned over 10 years. In 2026: ^[25]

You get one credit for each $1,890 in earnings,
Up to a maximum of four credits after $7,560 in earnings.

That means even part‑time or seasonal work can keep you on track for a future benefit.

Retirement age in the U.S.: rumors vs. reality

No, retirement age hasn’t been raised to 75

Social media is buzzing about a supposed “US Retirement Age Increase to 75 in 2025.” That’s not true.

Fact check:

Official Social Security rules still put full retirement age (FRA) at 66 to 67, depending on birth year. ^[26]
For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67. ^[27]
A widely shared explainer site explicitly notes that rumors of an increase to 75 are unfounded after checking SSA’s official guidance. ^[28]

What is happening is the final step of a decades‑old law passed in 1983: full retirement age has been gradually rising from 65 to 67. For people turning 62 in 2026, FRA will be 67, so claiming at 62 means a larger percentage cut than earlier cohorts faced. ^[29]

Claiming Age Clarity Act: changing the labels, not the math

A new bipartisan bill—the Claiming Age Clarity Act—won’t change benefit formulas, but it would change the language SSA uses. The idea is to make the trade‑offs more obvious: ^[30]

Age 62, currently called the “early eligibility age,” would become “minimum monthly benefit age.”
Full retirement age would be renamed “standard monthly benefit age.”
Age 70 would be labeled “maximum monthly benefit age.”

Research cited by AARP and academic studies suggests that small wording tweaks can shift when people choose to claim, especially among those with less financial literacy, nudging some to delay claiming and secure higher lifetime benefits. ^[31]

Federal employees: updated guidance on FERS retirement age

For federal workers, a newly updated guide from Federal Pension Advisors—published today, Nov 26, 2025—clarifies how retirement age works under the FERS and CSRS systems. ^[32]

Highlights:

Under CSRS (for employees hired before 1987), typical unreduced retirement benchmarks are:
- 55 with 30 years,
- 60 with 20 years, or
- 62 with 5 years of service.
Under FERS, your Minimum Retirement Age (MRA) depends on your birth year: roughly 55 to 57, with younger workers at the high end.
For a full, unreduced FERS annuity, you generally need:
- MRA + 30 years of service,
- Age 60 + 20 years, or
- Age 62 + 5 years. ^[33]

For federal employees who also expect Social Security and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) income, these age rules are crucial for coordinating when to retire and when to claim Social Security.

Disability rules: SSA backs off a major change that would have hit older workers

One of the biggest Social Security stories this month has flown under the radar: the Social Security Administration has scrapped a plan to overhaul disability rules in a way that likely would have hurt older applicants. ^[34]

According to reporting by The Washington Post, Axios, and AARP:

SSA had been considering a rule that would reduce or remove “age” as a factor when deciding whether disabled workers can adapt to other jobs. ^[35]
Analysis from the Urban Institute suggested this could have cut overall SSDI eligibility by up to 20%, and by as much as 30% for workers 50 and older. ^[36]
After intense pushback from disability advocates and AARP, Commissioner Frank Bisignano and senior administration officials told advocates the “mega‑regulation” will not move forward. ^[37]

For people in their 50s and early 60s—especially those in physically demanding jobs—this is a major reprieve. Disability benefits can be a crucial bridge for those who can’t keep working but aren’t yet old enough for full retirement benefits.

Overpayments, clawbacks, and the return of tougher collections

Another critical piece of the retirement puzzle in 2025 is how aggressively SSA is recovering overpayments—money it says was paid by mistake in past years.

Overpayment withholding rates: from 100% to 10%… then up to 50%

Recent policy zigzags look like this: ^[38]

March 2024: SSA slashed the default withholding rate from 100% of a monthly benefit to 10%, after intense criticism that full check garnishments were pushing people into crisis.
Early 2025: The agency signaled it would restore a 100% default rate to collect overpayments faster, prompting a new wave of backlash. ^[39]
April 25, 2025: SSA issued new internal guidance setting the default withholding for many Social Security overpayments at 50% of the monthly benefit instead. ^[40]

In practical terms, if SSA says you were overpaid and you don’t quickly arrange a different plan, up to half of your check can be held back until the debt is resolved—especially for newer overpayments. Older cases and many SSI overpayments may still be collected at the lower 10% rate, but the rules are complex. ^[41]

Treasury Offset Program resumes

On top of that, SSA has resumed using the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) to collect old federal debts—like some tax debts, student loans, and certain prior overpayments—by intercepting federal payments including Social Security. ^[42]

For retirees on tight budgets, these clawbacks can be just as painful as a benefit cut, making it essential to:

Open every letter from SSA,
Log into your my Social Security account’s message center, and
Request an appeal, waiver, or lower withholding rate if the proposed recovery would make it hard to pay for basic living expenses.

US pensions: public plans hit record funding levels

It’s not just Social Security in the spotlight. Traditional pension plans—especially in the public sector—are experiencing their strongest funding environment in years.

Public pensions: 86.3% funded and improving

New data from Milliman’s Public Pension Funding Index show that as of October 31, 2025, the 100 largest U.S. public defined‑benefit plans are: ^[43]

86.3% funded on aggregate,
Up from 85.4% a month earlier,
At the highest funded ratio since the index began in 2016, surpassing the previous high of 85.5% at the end of 2021.

Strong investment returns added an estimated $64 billion to assets in October alone, shrinking the aggregate funding gap to about $907 billion, and: ^[44]

Nearly half of the 100 plans are now more than 90% funded, and
19 plans actually have a surplus (assets greater than liabilities).

For teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees, this doesn’t mean every plan is safe forever—but it reduces immediate pressure for benefit cuts or dramatic contribution hikes in many states and cities.

Private‑sector pension risk transfers

In the corporate world, many companies are still moving pension obligations off their books via pension risk transfer (PRT) deals, where insurers take on retiree liabilities in exchange for a lump sum.

Milliman’s Pension Buyout Index reports that in October: ^[45]

The estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk in a competitive bidding process fell to 100.1% of a plan’s accounting liability, down from 100.5%.
The average annuity purchase cost across insurers sits around 103.3% of accounting liabilities.
Competitive bidding can save plan sponsors about 3.2% of PRT costs.

With costs hovering just over parity, and major deals—like a recent $2.5 billion transaction by RTX—grabbing headlines, many private employers are accelerating moves to de‑risk pensions while funding levels and annuity pricing look favorable. ^[46]

New $200‑per‑month proposal: Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act

Another big piece of today’s retirement conversation is a fresh proposal in Congress to temporarily boost benefits.

What the bill would do

The Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act (S.3078), introduced in the Senate on October 30, 2025, would: ^[47]

Pay an extra $200 per month to:
- Social Security retirement and disability beneficiaries,
- SSI recipients,
- Railroad retirement beneficiaries, and
- Veterans receiving disability compensation or pension benefits.
Run for six months, with payments starting in January 2026 and ending in June 2026 (some coverage notes extensions through July, depending on the final version). ^[48]
Provide only one $200 payment per month per person, even if you qualify under multiple programs. ^[49]

Importantly, these emergency payments would be on top of the 2.8% COLA already scheduled, and many proposals envision them as tax‑free, though final details could change. ^[50]

Where the bill stands now

Right now, the bill is: ^[51]

Introduced, not yet passed.
Referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
Supported by senior Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Ron Wyden, along with House champions like Reps. John Larson and Steven Horsford.

With a divided Congress, analysts widely expect an uphill battle, and there is no guarantee that any $200 boost will actually become law. For now, it’s a potential upside, not something you should build into your 2026 budget.

What should retirees and workers do with this information?

Here’s how all of today’s news fits together if you’re planning—or already living—your retirement.

If you’re already retired and receiving benefits

Confirm your November payment
- If your birthday is between 21st and 31st, today’s deposit should arrive via direct deposit or Direct Express. If it doesn’t show up, SSA recommends waiting up to three additional business days before calling. ^[52]
Estimate your 2026 net benefit
- Take your current monthly benefit, add about 2.8%, then subtract the extra $17.90 for the higher Part B premium (if you pay the standard rate). That gives a rough sense of your take‑home change. ^[53]
Watch for overpayment and TOP notices
- Open every letter from SSA and the Treasury. If you see “overpayment” or “Treasury Offset Program,” respond quickly and ask about appeals, waivers, or reduced withholding if full recovery would create hardship. ^[54]

If you’re nearing retirement

Know your real full retirement age
- If you were born in 1960 or later, your FRA is 67—and claiming at 62 means a reduction of roughly 24–30% compared with waiting. ^[55]
Use SSA’s tools before you file
- The SSA website and “my Social Security” account let you model claiming at 62, FRA, and 70. The proposed Claiming Age Clarity Act aims to make those choices more intuitive, but you can start modeling your own scenario today. ^[56]
Coordinate pensions and Social Security
- If you’re a public employee or federal worker with a pension, consider how the improving funded status of plans—and FERS or CSRS age rules—fit with your Social Security claiming strategy. ^[57]

If you’re mid‑career

Check your earnings record annually
- Errors in your recorded wages can reduce your eventual benefit and sometimes trigger overpayment messes later. A quick annual review can prevent both. ^[58]
Make sure you’re earning credits
- Aim to accumulate the full 40 credits over your working life; remember, in 2026 you’ll max out four credits after $7,560 in covered earnings. ^[59]
Follow the policy debate—but don’t panic
- COLA formulas, trust‑fund solvency, and proposals like the $200 boost are very much in play. Right now, nothing has changed about your basic eligibility or FRA, but keeping an eye on bills like S.3078 can help you adjust plans if and when they pass. ^[60]