WASHINGTON (AP) — The ongoing government shutdown is delaying the announcement of the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for tens of millions of beneficiaries.
Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the 2024 Social Security COLA announcement will now be Oct. 24. It's timed to the September Consumer Price Index, which also has not been released.
The Social Security Administration adjusts its benefits every year based on inflation. The postponement of the announcement is the most recent example of how the government shutdown, entering its third week and with little progress made toward a resolution, has made it more difficult for people to plan out their finances.
Projections by the Senior Citizens League and the AARP anticipate a COLA increase of roughly 2.7%. About 70 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, get Social Security benefits.
Social Security Administration beneficiaries have voiced concerns that next year's increase will not be enough to counter rising costs.
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 toward 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, or 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.
Some Democratic lawmakers have 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.
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Social Security Administration at https://apnews.com/hub/us-social-security-administration.
The Capitol is seen under gray skies on the thirteenth day of the government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - The Social Security Administration's main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md., Jan. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
PARIS (AP) — Ukraine on Monday signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France over the next 10 years, the two leaders said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who signed the document with French President Emmanuel Macron, called it “a historic deal” at a joint news conference at the Elysée presidential palace. The letter states that Ukraine is considering the possibility of buying French defense equipment.
“Firstly, Ukraine will be able to receive 100 Rafale fighter jets (and) very strong French radars — eight air-defense systems SAMP/T, each with six launching systems," he said. "This is a strategic agreement that will work for 10 years, starting next year."
Macron added, “Today we’re moving to a next step.”
He said Monday's agreement includes the acquisition of France's latest-generation jet fighters with full armament, as well as accompanying training and production programs.
The letter of intent also includes the acquisition of drones and drone interceptors, guided bombs and the next-generation SAMP/T ground-to-air systems, with first deliveries expected over the next three years, he added.
The chief of the French defense staff, Air Force Gen. Fabien Mandon, this month told French senators that the European-made SAMP/T that France provided to Ukraine are proving more effective than U.S.-made Patriot batteries against hard-to-hit Russian missiles.
Zelenskyy, on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.
On Monday morning, both leaders visited an air base in the Paris outskirts, before heading to the headquarters of a multinational force, dubbed the “coalition of the willing,” that France and Britain have been preparing with more than 30 other nations to police an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.
French officials say the force could be deployed immediately after a ceasefire and would be stationed away from the front lines in an effort to help dissuade renewed Russian attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops make creeping gains on the battlefield.
Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday that he looked forward to a “historic deal with France in Paris to strengthen our combat aviation and air defense." He made a stop in Greece on his way to France to sign an agreement to supply Ukraine with U.S. liquefied natural gas.
Last month, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages.
France is among major suppliers of defense assistance to Ukraine, including air defense systems and fighter jets.
According to Mandon, Ukraine needs immediate additional air defenses to fend off attacks by Russia, which on average targets the country with about 1,700 drones per week plus missiles.
“We helped Ukraine by deploying missile and drone interception systems called the SAMP/T system. The Russians adapted the flight profiles of their most advanced missiles because they realized they were being intercepted by Ukrainian defenses. Today, the Patriot system is struggling to intercept them, but the SAMP/T is intercepting them,” Mandon said.
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Barry Hatton in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to the report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 before a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, visit the offices of the future international force known as the coalition of the willing, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Mont Valerien in Suresnes, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
A Rafale jet fighter, drones and ammunitions are seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
