KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Bureau of Labor Statistics workers are returning to work so it could possibly launch its September inflation report on Oct. 24.
- It will enable the Social Safety Administration to calculate the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment earlier than the Nov. 1 deadline.
- Though the federal government stays shut down, Social Safety beneficiaries will quickly understand how a lot their checks will improve subsequent yr.
Safety beneficiaries will get an concept about what subsequent yr’s profit checks will appear like in any case.
The federal authorities stated it’s bringing again some furloughed Bureau of Labor Statistics workers to launch the September Client Worth Index on Oct. 24. The Social Safety Administration makes use of this key inflation knowledge to calculate the annual cost-of-living adjustment to advantages.
What This Means for Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries, particularly the practically 22 million seniors whose sole supply of revenue is Social Safety advantages and who depend on the COLA bulletins to funds for the following yr, will obtain some readability quickly, despite the fact that the shutdown continues.
The Social Safety 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement sometimes is available in mid-October and relies on the BLS inflation studies from the third quarter. When the federal government shut down firstly of this month over debates about well being care cuts, the BLS stated it could “utterly stop operations,” which incorporates releasing its studies.
The Social Safety Administration, which continues to have nearly all of its workers working so it could possibly administer checks through the shutdown, has not stated when it is going to launch the 2026 COLA. Nonetheless, the SSA is required to launch the adjustment by Nov. 1.
Early estimates counsel that the 2026 COLA can be 2.7%, up from 2025’s 2.5% improve.
