WASHINGTON – As the government shutdown drags on, it has cast a shadow over the timely announcement of the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for millions of recipients nationwide.

Initially slated for release this Wednesday, the 2024 Social Security COLA announcement has been pushed to October 24. This delay coincides with the yet-to-be-released September Consumer Price Index, which plays a crucial role in determining the adjustment.

Each year, the Social Security Administration recalibrates benefits to align with inflation rates. The current postponement serves as one of many disruptions caused by the prolonged government shutdown, now entering its third week without resolution in sight, complicating financial planning for numerous individuals.

Analysts from the Senior Citizens League and AARP are predicting an increase of approximately 2.7% for the COLA. This adjustment will impact around 70.6 million beneficiaries across the country, encompassing retirees, individuals with disabilities, and children.

However, concerns are mounting among Social Security recipients who worry that the anticipated increase may fall short in offsetting the escalating cost of living.

Sue Conard, a 75-year-old retired nurse from La Crosse, Wisconsin, and SSA recipient, recently traveled to the U.S. Capitol with other retiree members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union to lobby for meaningful progress towards gaining health care protections to end the shutdown, as well as changes to Social Security benefits.

She said she wants lawmakers to change the calculation on how the COLA is determined since the standard CPI gauge, which includes a market basket of consumer goods and services, doesn’t take into account many costs typical for older Americans.

“The issue of how the COLA is determined is flat-out wrong because health care is not factored into the CPI,” said Conard, speaking on the front steps of the Longworth House Office Building.

Some lawmakers have proposed legislation that would make SSA use a different index, called the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), to calculate the cost-of-living increase that measures price changes based on the spending patterns of older people on things such as health care, food and medicine.

A collection of Democratic lawmakers has proposed legislation to change the CPI calculation for COLA benefits to the CPI-E. Last session, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., proposed a law that would change the COLA calculation, but that never got a hearing in the Senate Finance committee.

AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said the COLA “isn’t just a source of income — it’s a lifeline of independence and dignity, for tens of millions of older Americans.” But even with an adjusted COLA, a majority of Americans still face challenges covering basic expenses, she said.

Vanessa Fields, a 70-year-old former social worker and AFSCME member from Philadelphia, said she pays roughly $1,000 per month for groceries, more than in previous years. The COLA doesn’t keep up with rising costs, she said, “and we’re going to be in bad shape if lawmakers don’t act.”

The agency is expected to begin notifying recipients about their new benefit amount starting in early December. A spokesperson for Social Security who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the COLA said retirement and Supplemental Security Income benefits would be adjusted beginning Jan. 1, 2026, without any delay despite the current government lapse in appropriations.

The delayed COLA announcement comes as the national social insurance plan faces a severe financial shortfall in the coming years and as the agency has seen substantial workforce cuts.

The annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report released in June said the program’s trust fund will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, instead of last year’s estimate of 2035. If the trust fund is depleted, the government will be able to pay only 81% of scheduled benefits, the report said.

In addition, the agency laid off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000 earlier this year, putting pressure on the remaining workers to handle claims and answer inquiries from a rising number of recipients.