Seniors, mark your calendars.
The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement is scheduled for Oct. 24, whether or not the U.S. government is open. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said it will publish the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Friday, Oct. 24 at 8:30 a.m. ET so the Social Security Administration can calculate and release the COLA information.
2026 COLA was originally set for Oct. 15 with the September CPI report, but the report was delayed after the government shut down on Oct. 1 and hasn’t yet reopened. Without September's inflation report, annual COLA can't be calculated. Annual COLA is based on average annual increases in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) from July through September.
The latest estimate up to the August inflation data show a Social Security check rising 2.8%, up from 2.7% the prior month, Johnson said.
The overall consumer price index rose 2.9% in August, and the index for urban wage earners increased 2.8%.
