US government shutdown could delay news of Social Security increase

One of the most highly anticipated announcements watched for each year by more than 70 million U.S. retirees and government benefits recipients could well be delayed by any federal government shutdown lasting more than a few days: Their annual pay increase. With a partial government shutdown beginning on Sunday looking ever more likely amid an ongoing standoff in Congress, the U.S. Labor Department has advised that all economic data gathering and publishing activities conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics would cease for as long as the government remains closed. That could mean a delay in the much-anticipated announcement of the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) to the monthly benefits paid out by the Social Security Administration.