Social Security Administration Reschedules 2026 COLA Announcement Amid Government Shutdown
The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) 2026 cost-of-living adjusted (COLA) announcement will be delayed by over a week amid the US government shutdown.
The SSA generally announces the yearly COLA on 15th October, coinciding with the release of the September Consumer Price Index data by the US Labor Department. This is because the COLA is based on Q3 inflation figures. The COLA raises benefits for 75 million beneficiaries to help senior, disabled Americans, and other recipients maintain their purchasing power as prices rise due to inflationary pressures.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated it will release the inflation data on 24th October, at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the SSA told media outlets it will issue its 2026 COLA announcement on the same day.
‘The Bureau of Labor Statistics has announced they will issue the September 2025 Consumer Price Index on 24th October,’ the agency stated. ‘The Social Security Administration will use this release to generate and announce the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment on 24th October as well.’
The new COLA will be effective on 1st January 2026, without any delays despite the ongoing shutdown, the agency added. The last time the COLA announcement was delayed was in 2013.
‘No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services,’ BLS said in a statement. ‘This release allows the Social Security Administration to meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits.’
On 9th October, ‘the Office of Management and Budget instructed the BLS to recall workers involved in assembling the September CPI report,’ according to JP Morgan chief US economist Michael Feroli. ‘However, no dates have been set for other data releases that normally would have been released.’
The Social Security program serves as a vital source of income for more than 54 million retirees across the US. While Social Security is designed to support retirement income levels, beneficiaries increasingly rely on these cheques to run their households.
The SSA estimated that monthly Social Security cheques for those 65 or older represent 30% of their income. Moreover, Social Security cheques represent 50% of the monthly income for 42% of women collecting benefits and 90% of the income for 12% of men.
What Will be The COLA Adjustment for 2026?
The Senior Citizen League forecast 2026 COLA to be around 2.7%, higher than the 2.5% hike in 2025. The advocacy group released the forecast based on August inflation data of 2.9%.
Another advocacy group AARP, expects the 2026 COLA to range from 2.6% to 2.9%. A 2.7% hike in benefits would boost the average monthly payment for retired workers by $54 (£40) to $2,062 (£1,544) from $2,008 (£1,503).
While the expected COLA 2026 hike is higher than 2025 due to sticky inflation, it is lower than the 5.9% raise in 2022, the 8.7% increase in 2023, and the 3.2% in 2024.
However, the 2026 COLA could be higher than expected as the September CPI is expected to rise to an annual rate of 3.1% from 2.9% in August.
‘Core goods pressures have started to heat up, marking the beginning of a delayed tariff passthrough,’ RBC economists said in a Tuesday report. ‘Concerningly, the breadth of inflationary pressures has widened — 45% of CPI basket items are now reporting price growth at or above 3%, compared to roughly two-thirds pre-pandemic.’
Originally published on IBTimes UK