Attention seniors: The date for the 2026 Social Security COLA announcement is now set.

Seniors, important news ahead

The announcement for the 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is set for October 24. This comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), regardless of the status of the government. On that date, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September is expected to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is crucial for the Social Security Administration to determine the COLA.

Initially, the COLA was supposed to be announced on October 15, alongside the September CPI report. However, due to the government shutdown on October 1, the reporting was postponed and hasn’t picked back up. Without the September inflation data, calculating the annual COLA becomes impossible. The yearly COLA is based on the average increase in the CPI-W for urban salaried and office workers from July to September.

What will the COLA look like for 2026?

According to Johnson, Social Security checks are projected to increase by 2.8%, a slight rise from 2.7% the month before, based on estimates leading up to August’s inflation data. The overall CPI saw a rise of 2.9% in August, with the index for urban workers increasing by 2.8%.

A 2.8% COLA could mean an average monthly Social Security benefit increase of over $52. To put that into perspective, the average benefit in August stood at $1,864.87.

Will more data be provided later?

The BLS clarified that the September CPI report was an exception to avoid delays concerning the COLA. They stated, “No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until normal government services resume.” This release allows the Social Security Administration to stick to the deadlines crucial for ensuring accurate benefit payments.

During the government shutdown, nearly all of the department’s 2,055 employees were furloughed. As for the September CPI report, JPMorgan’s chief U.S. economist, Michael Feroli, mentioned that the Office of Management and Budget has directed the BLS to call back employees working on the report, but no dates are set for other September statistics, like the inflation report or retail sales.

When has a COLA announcement been delayed before?

The last delay for the annual COLA release occurred in October 2013, also during a government shutdown. That year, funding for the Affordable Care Act was suspended for 16 days starting on October 1. The deadline for the September CPI report was originally October 16, but was postponed to October 30. At that point, it was announced COLA would increase by 1.5% for 2014.