Social Security recipients will soon learn about their increase for 2026. The ongoing government shutdown has pushed back the announcement that affects around 72.5 million beneficiaries. Originally set for October 15, the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement is now rescheduled for October 24.
Nearly all of the 2,055 employees in the department are currently on furlough, but some will return temporarily. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics officials indicated that no further announcements will be made until normal government operations resume. This rescheduling, they noted, ensures the Social Security Administration meets important deadlines for benefits payments.
The COLA for 2026 will be based on the September Consumer Price Index (CPI), which will be made public at 8:30 a.m. on October 24. This adjustment relies on the rate of increase in the CPI-W for July, August, and September, compared to the same period the previous year. The difference will determine the new COLA received in 2026.
Latest COLA Predictions
Recent forecasts from a bipartisan group suggest the COLA may be around 2.7%, leading to an average increase of about $54 for retired workers, lifting their monthly benefits from $2,008 to $2,062. This predicted rate is higher than the 2.5% increase in 2025 but lower than the 3.2% adjustment seen in 2024.
In the last 20 years, the average COLA yield has been around 2.6%.
COLA History Over the Past 10 Years
2015 – 0.0%
2016 – 0.3%
2017 – 2.0%
2018 – 2.8%
2019 – 1.6%
2020 – 1.3%
2021 – 5.9%
2022 – 8.7%
2023 – 3.2%
2024 – 2.5%
