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COLA Watch: 2026…Could a Government Shutdown Delay the Final Projection? - 401kspecialistmag.com
Every October, the analysts in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reach prominence as they grind the numbers leading to the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Traditionally, the BLS supplies the data needed to finalize the COLA calculation in time for an official announcement on October 15, marking the eagerly anticipated January adjustment. With the looming government shutdown growing more likely by the hour, will the furlough of much of the BLS staff cause a delay?
Brian Anderson, Editor-in-Chief at 401(k) Specialist discusses this question in a post on their website, which you can access in full here. As Anderson notes, “The Labor Department is preparing for what would amount to a news and data blackout should the U.S. government suspend operations.” The limited activities associated with the research needed to compile cost-of-living data “could delay the official 2026 COLA announcement,” according to Anderson.
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I think the 2026 cola should be more than it has been over the past years now..the way that senior citizens are having a hard time every month with expenses food, rent and everything it’s getting harder every time with the prices going up all the time… It should be around 7to 10 percent!!!!