The Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday, Oct. 15, that beneficiaries will receive a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027, raising monthly payments for nearly 72 million people across the United States, including in Puerto Rico. ^[1] The reach of the adjustment varies by source. The San Juan Daily Star and NotiCel both put the count at about 72 million beneficiaries. ^[2] Metro Puerto Rico reported the 2027 change at 3.6% affecting roughly 76 million people across the United States and all its territories, Puerto Rico among them. ^[3] The adjustment applies on the island because Puerto Rico is a US non-incorporated territory, subject to the plenary powers of the US Congress rather than a true free association with the United States. ^[4] That status, described by Metro Puerto Rico as that of a colony and a non-incorporated territory rather than a state or an independent nation, is what folds island beneficiaries into the same federal increase as mainland ones. ^[5]