A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) raises most railroad retirement annuities each January by increasing Tier I and Tier II. For January 2026, Tier I rose 2.8% and Tier II rose 0.9%, so employee, spouse, and survivor checks grew unevenly. COLA means cost-of-living adjustment.
Tier I is the Social Security-level part. Tier II is the extra part based on railroad earnings. Most annuities increased because the Consumer Price Index rose from third-quarter 2024 to third-quarter 2025, triggering the annual automatic adjustment.
Table of Contents
- Why do Tier I and Tier II rise by different amounts?
- How much larger are monthly checks?
- Who shares in the adjustment?
- Which payments receive no COLA?
- What do you need to do to get it?
Why do Tier I and Tier II rise by different amounts?
Tier I tracks inflation directly. It uses the same CPI-W increase as Social Security, so both rose 2.8% in January 2026, according to the Railroad Retirement Board republished in the NARVRE summary of the Board release.
Tier II follows a smaller formula in federal railroad-retirement law. It receives 32.5% of the CPI increase applied to Tier I, which produced the 0.9% Tier II rise, as described in the federal rule for Tier II increases. That split explains why long railroad careers still see a smaller dollar gain on the Tier II side.
How much larger are monthly checks?
The average regular employee annuity rose $80 to $3,636 per month. The average combined employee-and-spouse annuity rose $112 to $5,249. Eligible aged widow(er)s rose $50 to $2,109.
Those averages come from Railroad Retirement Board figures reported by the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen in the Signalmen report on 2026 benefit amounts. Your amount depends on service, earnings, age, and spouse or survivor status. Higher earnings and longer service generally produce a larger dollar increase.
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Who shares in the adjustment?
Employees, spouses, and eligible survivors share the adjustment. COLAs apply to both the Tier I and Tier II parts of employee, spouse, and survivor annuities.
That broad reach matters for household planning. A retired worker and spouse can both see higher payments in the same January. A survivor annuity can also carry the increase forward after the worker dies.
Which payments receive no COLA?
Vested dual-benefit payments receive no CPI adjustment. Supplemental annuities paid by the Railroad Retirement Board also receive no CPI adjustment.
Widow(er)s paid under the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001 face a special limit. They receive no annual COLA until the regularly computed annuity exceeds their guaranteed amount. Check your notice if your survivor benefit has stayed flat while other annuities rose.
What do you need to do to get it?
Nothing. The COLA is automatic with the January payment for the preceding December benefit. No application is required, and the percentage varies each year after 2.5% for Tier I and 0.8% for Tier II in January 2025.
- Compare your December deposit with your January deposit.
- Look for separate Tier I and Tier II changes on the notice.
- Update your budget for Medicare premiums, taxes, and withholding.
- Keep the January notice for tax and budget records.
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