The Social Security Administration office on West Nyack Road in Rockland County is slated to reopen Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. The office had been closed for renovations since June 2024.

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.

What will 2026 COLA be?

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%.

A 2.8% COLA would mean just more than a $52 monthly increase in the average Social Security benefit. The average monthly benefit was $1,864.87 in August, Social Security Administration data shows.

Does this mean other data are forthcoming?

BLS was clear the September CPI report was an exception, only so COLA wouldn’t be delayed.

"No other releases will be rescheduled or produced until the resumption of regular government services," BLS said in a statement. "This release allows the Social Security Administration to meet statutory deadlines necessary to ensure the accurate and timely payment of benefits."

When the government closed, all but one of the bureau’s 2,055 employees were furloughed.

Late on Oct. 9, "the Office of Management and Budget instructed the BLS to recall workers involved in assembling the September CPI report," said JP Morgan chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli. "However, no dates have been set for other data releases that normally would have been released," including other September inflation reports, retail sales and industrial production.

When was the COLA announcement last delayed?

The only other time the annual COLA announcement was delayed was in October 2013, also during a government shutdown. The government closed on Oct. 1, 2013 for 16 days, also over funding for the Affordable Care Act.

The September CPI report was due on Oct. 16, 2013 but delayed until Oct. 30, when the 1.5% annual COLA increase for 2014 was also announced.

How many people receive Social Security benefits?

In August, more than 74.5 million people received Social Security, according to the Social Security Administration. These beneficiaries include retired workers, disabled workers, survivors of deceased workers and those receiving Supplemental Security Income.

Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Seniors, mark your calendars! 2026 Social Security COLA announcement finally has a date

Reporting by Medora Lee, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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