WASHINGTON >> Millions of U.S. retirees and other Social Security recipients will have to wait for a while to learn how big their checks will be in 2026 as the ongoing partial government shutdown is set to delay the release of September’s consumer inflation data.

The Social Security Administration would have used the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers data from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025 to determine the annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for next year.

The programs benefit older Americans who have retired from their jobs as well as the disabled and certain widows, widowers and children. The COLA announcement — a widely anticipated event each October among the households

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