Government Shutdown Could Delay Yearly Social Security Payment Announcement

Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics is closed and won’t release reports, the yearly cost-of-living adjustment could be delayed.

A Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

As the government shutdown reached Day 3 on Friday, the agency that produces economic data may have to delay the release of its annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) plan for next year’s Social Security payments.

Generally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) releases its COLA for the upcoming year sometime in mid-October after it calculates the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners measure of inflation for July, August, and September. Last year’s announcement by the SSA was on Oct. 10, 2024, for the 2025 payments.