The Federal Reserve will hold eight meetings a year but plans to vote on interest rates at only seven of them, according to a new calendar released Thursday. The change will separate one meeting from the central bank’s regular rate-setting schedule.
The October meeting will focus on strategy and will not include a vote on interest rates or a policy statement. The revised schedule is part of a broader change in how the central bank conducts its work under Chairman Kevin Warsh.
“It is more than some administrative detail,” Warsh said when previewing the changes last month. The new approach is “yet another change to get the conduct of monetary policy on the right track.”
What is changing
Beginning next fall, the Fed’s rate-setting meetings will occur about once every two months instead of roughly every six weeks. The central bank also plans to reduce the number of interest-rate decisions further, to six in 2028.
| Period | Fed meetings | Rate decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Current schedule | Eight | Seven |
| 2028 | Not specified | Six |
The calendar change does not itself raise or lower the federal funds rate, the benchmark that influences many consumer and business borrowing costs. It changes when policymakers will formally decide whether to adjust monetary policy. The October gathering will instead be used for strategy discussions and will not produce a rate decision or policy statement.
Why the schedule matters
Federal Reserve rate decisions can affect borrowing and saving conditions across the U.S. The federal funds rate influences the broader cost of credit, including some variable-rate loans and lines of credit. It also helps shape the rates banks offer on deposits, although banks set their own account terms.
Because the new calendar creates longer gaps between rate-setting meetings, the Fed will have fewer scheduled opportunities to vote on changes. The revised schedule also gives the central bank a meeting dedicated to strategy rather than a decision on rates. The published calendar does not state how the change will affect any particular consumer loan, credit card or savings account.
- The Fed will meet eight times a year but vote on rates seven times under the new schedule.
- The October meeting will be devoted to strategy, with no rate vote or policy statement.
- The central bank plans to hold six rate-setting votes in 2028.
Warsh has also shortened the Fed’s statements and news conferences, stopped submitting forecasts and launched five task forces to reconsider how the central bank operates. The new meeting calendar is one part of that broader restructuring.
