Faced with data delays due to the government shutdown, the Trump administration is planning to call back Bureau of Labor Statistics staff to compile a key economic report. That report – known as the Consumer Price Index – is needed to determine the 2026 Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security beneficiaries.
READ MORE: Social Security makes major change that could benefit tens of millions
The COLA was set to be announced Oct. 15 but it’s unclear if that deadline remains. A Trump official told CNN the data would be released before Nov. 1, the deadline to publish the annual increase for Social Security.
COLA is determined by the percentage increase in the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the third quarter of the year (July, August and September). That figure is compiled and then compared to the CPI-W for the same period the previous year. The year-over-year difference is the new COLA payable in the coming year.
The latest projections put the 2026 COLA at 2.%which would translate to an additional $54 per month for the average retiree. That amount can vary, however, based on existing benefit amounts and lifetime earnings and average Social Security benefits vary state by state.
As financial website The Motley Fool reported, states with higher median incomes generally receive higher median Social Security benefits. Because COLAs are based on a percentage of a person’s benefits, retirees in those states will also receive the largest adjustment.
Based on the website’s analysis, retirees in these states will receive the largest raises in 2026. Figures show the average monthly retiree benefit after projected COLA:
- New Jersey: $2,172
- Connecticut: $2,159
- Delaware: $2,139
- New Hampshire: $2,121
- Maryland: $2,084
- Michigan: $2,067
- Washington: $2,061
- Minnesota: $2,053
- Massachusetts: $2,021
- Indiana: $2,016
Earlier this year, the average Social Security payment for retired workers reached $2,000 for the first time, hitting $2,002.39, an increase of 4.55% from the previous year.
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