For example, if this tool estimates your benefit at $1,000 per year starting in 20 years, but there is 350% inflation during those 20 years, then the actual benefit will be $3,500 ($1,000 x 350%). The base average is 246.352, as shown in the table below. Also shown in the table below, the average CPI-W for the third quarter of 2019 is 250.200. Because this average exceeds 246.352 by 1.6 percent, the COLA effective for December 2019 is 1.6 percent. The 2.8% increase in 2019 was the highest since 2012, when benefits increased by 3.6%. In 2018, the COLA was 2%, and in 2017 it was 0.3%. There was no increase in 2016. The COLA reached a record high of 14.3% in 1980, when the inflation rate was 13.5%.