(NEXSTAR) – The announcement of the Social Security Administration’s 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has been delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown, and amid uncertainty about the agency’s continued ability to address the needs of beneficiaries with fewer staff and limited services.
The Social Security Administration’s COLA, which is designed to help recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries retain their buying power amid rising inflation, is usually announced in mid-October, after the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for September. (The 2026 increase is based on BLS data from the third quarter — July, August and September — of 2025.)
This year, however, the BLS will miss its usual mid-October release date for the September CPI. But the official COLA announcement is still forthcoming, BLS says.
“BLS will publish the September 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Friday, October 24, 2025, at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time,” reads a notice published Friday. “No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services.”
The Social Security Administration’s official COLA announcement is typically released in conjunction with BLS’s September CPI data.
A prominent senior advocacy group, meanwhile, has already estimated the forthcoming COLA to be around 2.7%, which they argue is not enough to cover the rising costs of groceries, housing and healthcare costs. They also voiced concerns about the shutdown’s other possible repercussions for the Social Security Administration (SSA), and ultimately, its beneficiaries.
“Thankfully, Social Security payments will be made on schedule,” Shannon Benton, the executive director of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), told Nexstar last week. “However, some in-office Social Security services are suspended, including replacing Medicare cards, issuing proof-of-income letters, updating earnings records, and processing overpayments, among others.
“Delays in access, communication breakdowns, and loss of trusted services erode the stability that older adults count on,” Benton added. “Seniors deserve a fully functioning government that puts their well-being first — not another round of political gridlock.”
According to a contingency plan published ahead of the current government shutdown, the SSA planned to furlough nearly 6,200 of its 51,825 employees, or just under 12% of its staff, during a “partial shutdown” of only five days or less. (The government shutdown officially began on Oct. 1.)
A representative for the SSA was not immediately available to discuss which services may be affected by the current shutdown. But the contingency plan outlines the discontinuation of over a dozen operations, including “benefit verifications,” responding to “public inquiries,” and “conducting quality assurance review activities other than those related to allowances,” among others.
The SSA, in its contingency plan, suggested there would be no hiccup in beneficiary payments.
“We will cease activities not directly related to the accurate and timely payment of benefits or not critical to our direct-service operations,” the SSA writes.
Still, TSCL director Shannin Benton said the delayed announcement of the COLA does little to assuage concerns that the SSA can continue to conduct efficient operations.
“These are already confusing enough times for retirees,” Benton told Nexstar Monday. “Changing the date of the COLA announcement — even by just a week — doesn’t make things any easier. Seniors are trying to budget for next year, and delays like this only add to the uncertainty.”
