Veterans Day did more than close the offices this year. On Wednesday, November 11, the Senate passed the bill that gives disabled veterans their 3.6% raise for 2027 — by voice vote, with no amendments, on the holiday itself. The House had passed the same bill two days earlier. Only one step is left now: the president’s signature.
It is the fastest this annual bill has moved in years, and it happened on the one day of the year when the country is already thinking about veterans. Here is what happened, what the raise is worth, and what else Veterans Day changed for your money.
What happened, in order
The bill is H.R. 8552, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026. Representative Morgan Luttrell of Texas introduced it on April 28, 2026, with Representative Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky as the original cosponsor.
The House passed it by voice vote on Monday, November 9, under suspension of the rules. It was received in the Senate the next day, Tuesday, November 10. And on Wednesday, November 11 — Veterans Day — the Senate passed it without amendment by voice vote at 3:08 p.m., after Senator Jerry Moran spoke for it on the floor. The Congressional Record cites the vote at S5572, and the Senate’s own floor wrap-up for the day lists the bill as passed.
The Senate’s companion bill, S. 4487, had sat in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee since May 11 without action. It is now beside the point: the House bill is the one moving, and it needed no Senate committee vote to get there.
What remains is enrollment and presentment — the formal steps that put the bill on the president’s desk. As of November 12, the president had not signed it, and the White House had issued no statement on it. That is normal for this bill: last year’s version was signed on November 25, six days before its December 1 effective date.
What the raise is worth
The raise is 3.6%, the same percentage as Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment, which the Social Security Administration announced on October 14, 2026. The bill tells the VA to raise disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance, and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) for surviving spouses and children by that same percentage, effective December 1, 2026.
The VA must publish the new rates in the Federal Register once the bill becomes law. Until then, the dollar figures are the 2026 rates multiplied by 1.036 — expected, not yet official:
- A 10% rating rises from $180.43 to $186.92 a month.
- A 100% rating for a veteran alone rises from $3,938.58 to $4,080.37 a month — $141.79 more.
- A 100% rating with a spouse rises to $4,307.86 a month.
- A 100% rating with a spouse and one child rises to $4,474.46 a month.
The first payment at the new rate would land on December 31, 2026. That is because VA pays on the first of the month, and January 1 is a federal holiday, so the January payment is made a day early. No paperwork is needed from anyone receiving these benefits — the raise applies automatically once the bill is signed.
Why Congress had to vote at all
Social Security and military retired pay rise automatically with the cost-of-living adjustment. VA disability compensation does not. Congress has to pass a separate act every year to pass the same percentage through to veterans and survivors, and the dollar amounts in the law do not change on their own.
That is why this bill comes around every year, and why the calendar matters. The effective date is December 1, and the bill has to be signed before then for the new rates to take effect on time. This year it cleared both chambers with 19 days to spare. The tight part was never the House — it was the Senate, which took the bill up and passed it in a single day.
What Veterans Day itself changed for your money
The holiday was not only about the bill. Wednesday, November 11 was a federal holiday, so Social Security and VA field offices, banks and post offices were closed, while online services kept working.
Social Security’s November schedule moved around the holiday. People with birthdays on the 1st through the 10th were paid on Tuesday, November 10, a day early, because the 11th was a holiday. Two November payments are still to come: Wednesday, November 18 for birthdays on the 11th through the 20th, and Wednesday, November 25 for birthdays on the 21st through the 31st — the day before Thanksgiving.
There was no SSI deposit dated in November. November’s SSI landed early, on Friday, October 30, because November 1 was a Sunday. The next SSI payment is Tuesday, December 1, followed by December 31 — which is January’s money, and the first SSI payment at the 2027 rate of $1,029 a month for a single person.
In Alaska, November 11 was the cutoff for the $1,200 Permanent Fund Dividend. Applications showing “Eligible-Not Paid” on November 11 are distributed on Thursday, November 19. The last 2026 payment run is December 17, with a December 9 cutoff.
And in the House, two other veterans bills moved this week. The Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102) passed 392 to 18 on Thursday, November 12, and the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) passed by voice vote on November 11. Neither is law — both still need the Senate and the president’s signature. Do not confuse them with the COLA bill, which has already cleared both chambers.
What to watch next
Three dates matter from here. The first is the signature, expected any day — last year it came on November 25. The second is the VA’s Federal Register rate table, expected around December 1, which turns the expected figures above into official ones. The third is December 31, the first payment at the new rate. A separate December deadline is also closing in: Medicare open enrollment ends December 7.
Veterans Day 2026 will be remembered as the day the raise stopped being a bill waiting for a vote and became a bill waiting for a signature. For the roughly 5 million veterans and survivors who receive these payments, that is the difference between hoping and counting on it.
FAQ: VA disability COLA 2027
Is the 3.6% VA disability raise law yet?
No. Both chambers of Congress have passed H.R. 8552 — the House on November 9 and the Senate on November 11, 2026 — but it is not law until the president signs it. As of November 12, it had not been signed.
When would the new VA disability rates start?
December 1, 2026, if the bill is signed in time. The first payment at the new rate would land on December 31, 2026, because January 1 is a federal holiday.
How much is 100% VA disability in 2027?
Expected $4,080.37 a month for a veteran alone, up from $3,938.58 — the 2026 rate multiplied by 1.036. That figure is expected, not official: the VA publishes the official rate table in the Federal Register after the bill becomes law.
Do I need to apply for the raise?
No. It applies automatically to everyone receiving VA disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or the clothing allowance. No form, no phone call, no claim.
What about the Major Richard Star Act?
That is a different bill. The House passed it on November 12, 2026, but it still needs Senate passage and the president’s signature. It does not change anyone’s pay yet.
Sources
- Congress.gov — H.R. 8552, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026 (status: passed Senate without amendment by voice vote; consideration CR S5572)
- Senate Democratic Caucus — Wrap Up for Wednesday, November 11, 2026
- Social Security Administration — Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2027 (91 FR 67380, October 26, 2026)
- VA.gov — Veteran disability compensation rates (2026 rates)
- SSA Publication 05-10031 — Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments 2026
- pfd.alaska.gov — 2026 Permanent Fund Dividend payment schedule