A 100 percent rating buys about what it did in 2000. The road there was not smooth.
- By Alec Morgan
- The Veteran Benefit Desk
- Published July 21, 2026
- ISSN 3144-0835
- https://doi.org/10.68077/vbd.purchasing-power
Independent research; not peer reviewed. Corrections and version notes are published under our Corrections Policy.
Data version 1.1, revised September 25, 2026. Originally published July 21, 2026. See the correction note.
We assembled the published rate for a veteran rated 100 percent with no dependents for all 27 rate years since 2000 and checked each one against official COLA records and the Consumer Price Index. Measured in 2025 dollars, the rating is worth 0.7 percent more than it was in 2000. Between those endpoints the real value moved through a 2009 peak and a two decade low in 2022; the peak stood 9.4 percent above the low in real terms, a 8.6 percent decline measured from the peak. This page publishes the full series and what it shows.
What the data shows
Over a quarter century, COLA has kept pace with inflation
From 2000 to 2025 the 100 percent rate rose 88.2 percent while consumer prices rose 87.0 percent. Dividing the rate's growth factor by the price growth factor leaves the rating worth 0.7 percent more in real terms; the real gain is that ratio, not the simple difference between the two percentages. A common claim holds that veteran benefits quietly erode over time. For the 100 percent rate, the record does not support it: the annual adjustment required by 38 U.S.C. 5312 has done its job across the full period.
The 2022 inflation surge cut the real value to a two decade low
Each COLA is set from the CPI-W for the third quarter of the year, measured against the third quarter of the last year in which a COLA took effect, and applies from December 1. When prices move fast, the adjustment therefore arrives after the increase has already happened. During the surge of 2022, a veteran received $3,332.06 per month, worth only $3,665.52 in 2025 dollars, the lowest real value in the entire series. The 8.7 percent adjustment that followed (effective December 1, 2022, the largest in the Social Security COLA series since the 11.2 percent adjustment of June 1981) restored most of the lost ground within a year.
The real value peaked in 2009, not today
The same lag can work in a veteran's favor. The 5.8 percent COLA effective December 1, 2008 was set during the price spike of mid 2008 and took effect just as prices fell. Through 2009 the rating was worth $4,011.21 per month in 2025 dollars, about $180 more than the 2025 rate, the highest real value in the series.
Three Decembers brought no raise at all, but they were not the costly years
The adjustments effective December 1, 2009, December 1, 2010, December 1, 2015 were zero, and December 1, 2016 brought just 0.3 percent. Yet the real value held roughly steady through those stretches because prices were flat too. The years that actually cost veterans purchasing power were the ones where inflation ran ahead of a COLA already locked in, which is exactly what happened in 2021 and 2022.
The published base rates for the 27 rate years sum to $916,376
Each rate governs exactly twelve monthly entitlements, December through November, so the base rates scheduled for a veteran continuously rated 100 percent with no dependents from December 1, 1999 through November 30, 2026 sum to $916,375.68. That is a full-period total of the published rates, not a payment history: the 2026 rate year is still running, and this series does not examine any individual's actual payments. The figure is the base rate alone; dependents, Special Monthly Compensation, and state benefits all add to it.
Nominal rate vs real value
The published monthly rate each rate year, alongside the same rate restated in 2025 dollars using BLS CPI-U annual averages. The 2026 rate year has no real value yet because the 2026 CPI annual average is not final until early 2027.
- In 2025 dollars
- Published rate
The COLA applied each December
The cost of living adjustment behind each rate year, applied the preceding December 1. Three adjustments were zero, and the 8.7 percent adjustment effective December 1, 2022 was the largest in the Social Security COLA series since June 1981 (11.2 percent).
The complete series
| Rate year | Effective | COLA | Monthly rate | Annual | In 2025 dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | December 1, 1999 | 2.4% | $2,036.00 | $24,432 | $3,806.48 |
| 2001 | December 1, 2000 | 3.5% | $2,107.00 | $25,284 | $3,830.23 |
| 2002 | December 1, 2001 | 2.6% | $2,163.00 | $25,956 | $3,870.83 |
| 2003 | December 1, 2002 | 1.4% | $2,193.00 | $26,316 | $3,837.07 |
| 2004 | December 1, 2003 | 2.1% | $2,239.00 | $26,868 | $3,815.94 |
| 2005 | December 1, 2004 | 2.7% | $2,299.00 | $27,588 | $3,789.79 |
| 2006 | December 1, 2005 | 4.1% | $2,393.00 | $28,716 | $3,821.48 |
| 2007 | December 1, 2006 | 3.3% | $2,471.00 | $29,652 | $3,836.76 |
| 2008 | December 1, 2007 | 2.3% | $2,527.00 | $30,324 | $3,778.63 |
| 2009 | December 1, 2008 | 5.8% | $2,673.00 | $32,076 | $4,011.21 |
| 2010 | December 1, 2009 | 0% | $2,673.00 | $32,076 | $3,946.48 |
| 2011 | December 1, 2010 | 0% | $2,673.00 | $32,076 | $3,825.72 |
| 2012 | December 1, 2011 | 3.6% | $2,769.00 | $33,228 | $3,882.77 |
| 2013 | December 1, 2012 | 1.7% | $2,816.00 | $33,792 | $3,891.67 |
| 2014 | December 1, 2013 | 1.5% | $2,858.24 | $34,299 | $3,886.99 |
| 2015 | December 1, 2014 | 1.7% | $2,906.83 | $34,882 | $3,948.38 |
| 2016 | December 1, 2015 | 0% | $2,906.83 | $34,882 | $3,899.19 |
| 2017 | December 1, 2016 | 0.3% | $2,915.55 | $34,987 | $3,829.31 |
| 2018 | December 1, 2017 | 2% | $2,973.86 | $35,686 | $3,812.77 |
| 2019 | December 1, 2018 | 2.8% | $3,057.13 | $36,686 | $3,849.77 |
| 2020 | December 1, 2019 | 1.6% | $3,106.04 | $37,272 | $3,863.70 |
| 2021 | December 1, 2020 | 1.3% | $3,146.42 | $37,757 | $3,738.30 |
| 2022 | December 1, 2021 | 5.9% | $3,332.06 | $39,985 | $3,665.52 |
| 2023 | December 1, 2022 | 8.7% | $3,621.95 | $43,463 | $3,826.89 |
| 2024 | December 1, 2023 | 3.2% | $3,737.85 | $44,854 | $3,836.20 |
| 2025 | December 1, 2024 | 2.5% | $3,831.30 | $45,976 | $3,831.30 |
| 2026 | December 1, 2025 | 2.8% | $3,938.58 | $47,263 | CPI pending |
Methodology and validation
The series. Each row is the published statutory monthly rate under 38 U.S.C. 1114(j) for a veteran rated 100 percent with no dependents. Four things are kept separate here. The rate's legal effective period runs from December 1 of the prior year through November 30, twelve monthly entitlements, which is why the annual amounts and the 27-rate-year total are exact sums of published rates. The year used for the price comparison is the calendar year that contains eleven of those twelve months. The value compared is that single selected monthly rate. Actual payments to any veteran, and calendar-year payment totals, are not modeled. Rates were stated in whole dollars through the December 2012 adjustment; VA has carried exact cents since December 2013.
Inflation adjustment. Real values use the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual average (all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted, 1982 to 84 base, series CUUR0000SA0) at the precision BLS publishes: one decimal through 2006 and three decimals from 2007. The 2025 annual average, 321.943, is BLS's official average of the eleven published months; October 2025 was not collected during the lapse in appropriations, and this series does not estimate the missing month. Real values are computed from the published inputs and rounded only for display. The COLA itself is set by a different rule: the CPI-W for the third quarter of the year, compared with the third quarter of the last year in which a COLA took effect, which is not always the immediately preceding year (the adjustment effective December 2011 measured from the third quarter of 2008, because no COLA took effect in 2009 or 2010). That difference in index and window is one reason tracking is close but not perfect.
- Chain arithmetic: every rate reproduces from the prior year's rate and that year's COLA, exact to the cent from December 2013 onward and within the statutory whole dollar rounding before then. This check runs in code on every page build and currently passes.
- Every COLA percentage matches the Social Security Administration's official adjustment series, which VA is required by 38 U.S.C. 5312 to follow. One historical footnote: the December 1999 adjustment was originally determined as 2.4 percent from published CPI figures, and Public Law 106-554 later treated the Social Security figure as 2.5 percent; VA rates reflect the original 2.4 percent arithmetic.
- Rate spot checks against primary sources: the 1999 United States Code edition of 38 U.S.C. 1114 ($2,036), VBA published rate tables for December 2008 ($2,673) and December 2016 ($2,915.55), and VA's current rate pages for 2024 through 2026, which also power our own pay charts.
Peak-to-low convention. The peak-to-low gap is stated two ways, and both reproduce from the published table: the 2009 peak stood 9.4 percent above the 2022 low (low as the denominator), which is the same gap as a 8.6 percent decline measured from the peak (peak as the denominator). Neither convention is more correct; they describe one gap from two ends.
Limitations. This series covers the base 100 percent rate for a veteran alone. Dependent additions, Special Monthly Compensation, and survivor benefits follow their own schedules. CPI-U measures the average urban consumer's basket, not a veteran-specific cost index; housing, medical, or disability-related costs for a particular household can move differently. The analysis values cash compensation only: it places no dollar value on VA health care, education, or other benefits that accompany a 100 percent rating, and the compensation itself is tax exempt, which this series does not convert into a taxable income equivalent. The 2026 real value will be added when BLS finalizes the 2026 annual average in early 2027.
Sources. SSA COLA series, BLS CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0), VA compensation rates, 38 U.S.C. 1114 (1999 edition). For the current year's figures see our 2026 pay chart, and for where next year's COLA is heading see the COLA projection tracker.
Corrections and revisions
This report was first published July 21, 2026. Material changes to the inputs, results or wording are recorded here with the date they took effect. The current data version is 1.1.
Correction, September 25, 2026 (data version 1.1). Two changes to the CPI-U inputs. (1) The 2015 annual average had been entered as 237.8; the BLS published value is 237.017. This was a data-entry error. (2) The 2007 through 2025 annual averages had been carried at one decimal; they are now the three-decimal values BLS publishes for those years. The 2000 through 2006 values are published at one decimal and are unchanged. Every real value, the peak and low statistics, the chart, the table, the CSV and the JSON were regenerated from the corrected inputs. The conclusions of the report do not change.
| Years | Before | After | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 237.8 | 237.017 | Data-entry error. 237.8 is not the BLS annual average for 2015 at any precision. |
| 2007 to 2025 (19 years, including 2015 after the error above is corrected) | one-decimal values (for example 2009 214.5, 2022 292.7, 2025 321.9) | BLS published three-decimal annual averages (2009 214.537, 2022 292.655, 2025 321.943) | Precision restatement to the value BLS publishes. Not a data-entry error. |
| 2000 to 2006 | unchanged | unchanged | BLS publishes these annual averages at one decimal; no additional precision exists. |
| Measure | Before | After | Where | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real value of the 2015 rate in 2025 dollars | $3,934.86 | $3,948.38 | table row 2015, chart point 2015, CSV and JSON | unchanged |
| Real change 2000 to 2025 | +0.67% (displayed +0.7%) | +0.65% (displayed +0.7%) | stat tile and Finding 1 | unchanged |
| CPI-U growth 2000 to 2025 | 86.93% (displayed 86.9%) | 86.96% (displayed 87.0%) | Finding 1 | unchanged |
| Peak real value (2009) | $4,011.37 | $4,011.21 | Finding 3, JSON peak | unchanged |
| Low real value (2022) | $3,664.47 | $3,665.52 | Finding 2, JSON trough | unchanged |
| Peak above low | 9.47% (displayed 9.5%) | 9.43% (displayed 9.4%) | introduction, methodology, JSON swing_pct | unchanged |
| Decline from peak to low | 8.65% (displayed 8.6%) | 8.62% (displayed 8.6%) | introduction, methodology, JSON decline_from_peak_pct | unchanged |
| Real values for every other year 2000 to 2024 | one-decimal inputs | shift by between $0.07 and $1.32 a month; 2000 to 2006 move by about $0.51 because the 2025 base value changed | table, chart, CSV, JSON rows | unchanged |
Unchanged. Published monthly rates and COLA percentages; Nominal growth 88.2%; Annual amounts and the 27-rate-year total; Peak year 2009 and low year 2022; Zero-COLA years and the 8.7% adjustment.
- The COLA description now states the statutory comparison: CPI-W for the third quarter of the year against the third quarter of the last year in which a COLA took effect (not always the immediately preceding year).
- The 27-rate-year total is described as the sum of the scheduled published rates for the full period, not as money already received.
- The methodology separates the rate's legal effective period, the calendar year used for the price comparison, the selected monthly rate and actual payments.
Downloads and API. CSV column header row, column order and record count are unchanged (27 data rows). JSON response shape is unchanged; meta gains additive fields data_version, revised_on, inputs and corrections. The peak, low and percentage statistics are now computed from unrounded real values and rounded only for display.
Verification. Every CPI-U input re-verified against the BLS Public Data API (series CUUR0000SA0, period M13) and the BLS annual and semiannual indexes table on 2026-09-25; the mean of the published monthly indexes reproduces each annual average.
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