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.

However, the Department of Labor said in a shutdown contingency plan released in late September that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will “suspend all operations” during the shutdown, which was initiated on Oct. 1 after Congress couldn’t reach an agreement on a stopgap funding bill.

“All active data collection activities for BLS surveys will cease. The BLS website will not be updated with new content or restored in the event of a technical failure during a lapse,” the Labor Department document said.

The BLS is the agency that releases CPI data.

“A delay of the CPI release during October of each year might have an impact on the Cost of Living Adjustment announcement by the Social Security Administration,” the Labor Department also noted in its plan.

The CPI inflation report for September is scheduled to be released on Oct. 15, meaning that a shutdown-averting funding deal must be agreed upon by members of Congress before then. Usually, after the September report is released, the SSA then announces the COLA for the coming year.

“The releases of economic data will likely be delayed if a lapse is prolonged,” the Labor Department document also said. “A reduction in quality of data collected might impact the quality of future estimates produced.”

The CPI report is also watched by economists at the Federal Reserve. The central bank is scheduled to hold its next Federal Open Market Committee on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, where Fed officials are set to decide how to handle interest rates.

During the last committee meeting, held last month, the Fed lowered interest rates by 0.25 percent—the first time it had done so in around nine months.

In a statement on Wednesday, the SSA said that the government shutdown won’t impact the distribution of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments. However, it noted that local offices may provide “reduced services” during the shutdown period.

“We want you to know that during the federal government shutdown, payments to all people who currently receive Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will continue with no change in payment dates. You will still receive your payments on time,” the statement said.

The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group that represents retired Americans, predicted in mid-September that the COLA for 2026’s Social Security and SSI payments will be 2.7 percent, slightly higher than the 2.5 percent COLA that was announced last year for all of 2025.

“That’s the same as last month’s projection,” said the group, adding that it would mean a raise of the “average monthly benefit for retired workers by $54, or from $2,008 to $2,062.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the SSA for comment.