Every October, millions of Americans learn how much their Social Security payments will rise the following year. 

The cost-of-living adjustment, or Cola, is an annual uplift to payments which is designed to keep up with inflation. 

It is announced every year when the Labor Department releases the Consumer Price Index data for September, which is scheduled for October 15 this year. 

However due to the ongoing government shutdown, Americans may be left in limbo a little longer. 

Thousands of Labor Department workers have been furloughed, and the release of economic data is likely to be delayed if the shutdown persists. 

This will likely hit the lowest income households hardest, and seniors who rely on tight budgeting to make ends meet. 

The COLA for 2026 is forecast to be 2.7 percent.

This would raise the average monthly benefit for retired workers by $54, from $2,008 to $2,062, according to nonpartisan group The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).

The COLA uplift is announced every year at the same time as the CPI for September

A delay will likely hit the lowest income households hardest, and seniors who rely on tight budgeting to make ends meet

The COLA uplift is based on a specific inflation measure called the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from July through September. 

This tracks the price changes that urban wage earners and clerical workers pay for a basket of common consumer goods and services.

Without the release of the September inflation report, the annual Cola cannot be calculated. 

Over the last 20 years, the adjustment has averaged 2.6 percent. 

The only other time the Cola was delayed was in October 2013 during a government shutdown which lasted for 16 days.

The September Consumer Price Index report was due on October 16, 2013, but was not released until October 30. 

While the Cola could be delayed by the current shutdown, the 74 million Social Security recipients across the US will continue to receive their funds on their usual schedule.

Benefits for retirees and disabled Americans are covered by mandatory spending, which means the program is approved by Congress without an expiration date. 

Americans may be left in limbo over Social Security payments in 2026 due to the ongoing government shutdown 

Democratic Party members are demanding that Republicans agree to restoring cuts to healthcare that were enacted over the summer (Pictured: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer)

The current shutdown is largely over healthcare cuts that were brought in over the summer.

Democrats thus far have refused the Republican-approved spending bill because they are demanding a permanent extension of tax credits that are set to expire and currently help Americans purchase private health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. 

President Donald Trump has said that he is prepared to begin massive layoffs of federal workers if he deems that negotiations with are ‘absolutely going nowhere.’

The shutdown has already cost taxpayers $1.2 billion in wages for 750,000 federal employees who have been furloughed, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.