📅 COLA Watch
Government pay and benefits reset on a rhythm: October to January is the season when nearly every number changes. This page tracks each drop; the newsletter tells you the week the figures land — with our verified tables already updated. Current baseline: the 2.8% COLA for 2026 (SSA, announced October 2025).
COLA Watch — every annual update, verified, the week it drops
One email when the numbers change. Double opt-in, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
GI Bill rates (MHA/books)
~1dAugust 1 school-year boundary
Post-9/11 GI Bill housing allowance and tuition caps for the new academic year.
GI Bill pages →SNAP COLA (allotments & limits)
~15dReleased ~August, effective Oct 1
Maximum allotments, income limits, and deductions for the new fiscal year.
SNAP screener →Social Security COLA announcement
~76dMid-October
Sets the January increase for Social Security & SSDI checks and drives the VA compensation COLA.
SSDI calculators →VA compensation rate tables
~93dOctober–November (effective Dec 1)
New monthly VA disability rates at every rating and dependent status.
VA calculators →TSP / IRS contribution limits
~98dEarly November
Next year's elective deferral, catch-up, and annual-additions limits.
TSP calculator →BAH rates
~138dMid-December (effective Jan 1)
Housing allowance for every military housing area and pay grade.
Military calculators →GS pay tables (executive order)
~151dLate December (effective first Jan pay period)
The federal pay raise: new base table + all 58 locality tables.
GS pay tables →Military basic pay tables
~155dJanuary (post-NDAA)
Basic pay for every grade and years-of-service cell.
Military calculators →HHS poverty guidelines (FPL)
~169dMid-January
The poverty-line figures behind SNAP, Medicaid, and ACA subsidy math.
SNAP screener →Dates are typical announcement windows, not official schedules — agencies publish when they publish. What we promise: when a table drops, our verified packs and pages update the same week, and the list hears first.