Several of my friends have entered retirement, and I enjoy hearing about the enjoyable activities they have planned. I must admit, I sometimes envy the freedom they have to change their plans at a moment’s notice without any concerns.
However, there’s one thing I doubt they’ll overlook on October 24. If you’re receiving Social Security retirement payments, you likely won’t want to miss it either.
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Better late than never
So, what makes October 24 significant? That’s the date when the Social Security Administration (SSA) will reveal the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026.
This year, the announcement is delayed due to a federal government shutdown. When Congress was unable to agree on continued funding, many federal agencies had to activate backup plans. The Department of Labor was among them. One of the actions taken by the DOL during the shutdown was to halt the release of economic data produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
If the BLS had continued its usual operations, it would have published the September inflation figures on October 15, 2025. With that data, the SSA would have had all the information needed to determine the next year’s Social Security COLA. Retirees would have quickly learned about their benefit increase after the inflation numbers were released. But the shutdown prevented any of this from happening.
The last piece of data the SSA requires is the September Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The annual COLA is figured by comparing the CPI-W from the third quarter of the current year to that of the previous year. The only missing figure for the SSA’s calculation is the September CPI-W.
Despite the government shutdown, the BLS intends to release the September inflation report at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, October 24. This exception is being made because the SSA must finalize the 2026 COLA by November 1, 2025, to comply with legal requirements.
Go to the source
What should retirees do on October 24? Visit the SSA’s Communications Corner webpage. Shortly after the BLS publishes the September inflation report that morning, the SSA will update its website with the 2026 COLA announcement.
Finding the announcement should be straightforward. It will appear as a press release with a headline along the lines of “Social Security Announces N.N Percent Benefit Increase for 2026.” You’ll discover how much your Social Security payments will rise next year, along with other important details.
Of course, retirees aren’t required to check the SSA’s website later this week. The Social Security COLA update will be widely covered by the media. For instance, The Motley Fool team will quickly analyze the SSA’s announcement and share insights with readers. Still, if you prefer to get your information directly from the official source, the SSA’s website is the best place to look.
What will the 2026 COLA likely be?
If you’re curious about the likely size of the 2026 Social Security COLA, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) uses a statistical model to provide monthly projections for the upcoming COLA. Their latest estimate suggests retirees will see a 2.7% increase in benefits.
How does this forecast compare to previous Social Security COLAs? It’s a bit higher than this year’s 2.5% increase, but it falls short of the adjustments made in the three years before that.
There’s another key detail retirees won’t learn on October 24 that affects how much of their COLA actually ends up in their bank accounts: the Medicare Part B premium for 2026.
If you’d rather avoid disappointing news, you might want to delay finding out this information. In July, the Medicare trustees estimated that Part B premiums will rise by 11.6% next year. For many retirees, this increase will eat up a significant portion of their Social Security COLA.
