The temporary shutdown of large portion of the federal government is having a minimal effect on Social Security recipients, but it may be a while before they find out what their Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2026 might be.
The adjustment, usually estimated and released around this time of year, is one of the duties performed by the Social Security Administration, which is on hiatus until Congress comes up with the funding to reopen federal offices.
Steve Cotton of Cotton Wealth Management says there's no concern about whether Social Security benefits will continue.
"It is a mandated function of the government, it has to continue despite any kind of government shutdown," he says.
The estimates of how much money Social Security recipients will receive next year, which are usually released on October 15th, will likely be late this year, though.
"The COLA estimates rely on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, and we understand, with the kind of shutdown and furloughs and that sort of thing that the numbers might not be ready by the 15th," says Jerry Hafer, accredited national Social Security advisor for the AMAC Foundation.
"But there will be no interruption of benefits payments," he adds.
Mr. Cotton takes it a step further, saying "I'm really more concerned about the length of this [shutdown] and the disruption to people's lives," Cotton says.
"A lot of federal workers are paycheck-to-paycheck," he says.