Why is news of your Social Security increase delayed? Will it affect the amount?
This year hasn’t been a good one so far for retirees and people who depend on Social Security.
The announcement of a cost-of-living adjustment, which arrives like clockwork during the first weeks of October, has been delayed by the federal government shutdown.
The final COLA figure was scheduled to be released on Oct. 15, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics can’t publish September data for the Consumer Price Index because many government departments are operating at reduced capacity. And price data for the last month of the third quarter are used, mixed with July and August figures, to calculate the adjustment needed for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for 2026.
The delay in the announcement isn’t expected to affect when retirees and others receive the 2026 increase, which usually comes in December ahead of the New Year holiday.
When will the Social Security COLA increase be announced?
The labor statistics bureau won’t release September consumer price results until Friday, Oct. 24. Until then, the Social Security Administration will not make the COLA announcement for 2026 official.
With the figures available so far, analysts estimate the COLA increase for 2026 would be 2.7%, higher than 2025’s 2.5%. That would mean an average increase of $54 in retirees’ checks, according to predictions from the Senior Citizens League, a nonprofit that advocates for older adults and issues an annual early COLA estimate.
The Senior Citizens League has expressed concern about the instability the partial government shutdown creates for U.S. retirees — it doesn’t stop Social Security payments, but it does temporarily eliminate some services.
While the shutdown continues, Social Security offices will not replace Medicare cards. They also will not provide Social Security earnings statements, nor update or correct earnings records.
“Delays in access, communication breakdowns and the loss of reliable services erode the stability older adults rely on,” Shannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League, told Nexstar. “Older Americans deserve a fully operational government that prioritizes their well‑being, not another round of political gridlock.”
