by Carla Fried Older adults will get a 1.3% increase in their Social Security benefit in 2021, the Social Security Administration was expected to announce Tuesday morning. That works out to about a $20 monthly bump in the average Social Security benefit, to nearly $1,540. While something is better than nothing, the cost-of-living adjustment (widely known as the COLA) for 2021 is lower than the rising expenses many retirees face — particularly for health care.