COLA Increase 2025 Date: It’s important to remember that the COLA estimate has been going down since 2022; this year’s 3.2% rise is less than half of last year’s 8.7% rise. As stated, “Inflation fell 3% in June, but the rapid rise in food prices since 2020 means that financial relief is still a long way off.”
Social Security recipients got a cost-of-living increase (COLA) of 2.63% in 2019, which was less than the 3.2% COLA they got this year. The COLA is meant to keep people who get it from losing buying power because of inflation.
COLA Increase 2025 Date
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to compare data from the third quarter of last year to the third quarter of this year. Even though the 2019 adjustment was not as big as the 2018 change, it still made Social Security benefits better.
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As previously stated, “Benefits under the current COLA increase Social Security recipients’ benefits by an average of $50.” Organizations like the Senior Citizens League (TSCL), which promotes elder rights and carried out the investigation that produced the 2.63% figure, have contributed to this beneficial adjustment.
It’s important to note that the COLA estimate has been decreasing since 2022. This year’s 3.2% increase is less than half of the 8.7% adjustment seen in 2022. Despite inflation falling by 3% in June, persistent increases in food prices since 2020 mean that financial relief for many is still distant.
For Social Security recipients, the rise is still advantageous even with the smaller COLA. According to the statement, “the COLA’s purpose is to ensure that inflation does not erode the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries,” the 2.63% COLA is expected to contribute to the maintenance of benefit value.
What Beneficiaries Mean by a 2.63% COLA
Though it is less than the current 3.2% COLA, the 2.63% COLA for 2019 is still a good development for Social Security beneficiaries overall. This is a result of the government’s and TSCL’s efforts to protect the purchasing power of Social Security and SSI recipients.
The Social Security COLA for retirees and other beneficiaries in 2025 is probably going to be lower due to the slowing rate of inflation. Independent Social Security and Medicare policy expert Mary Johnson has revised her forecast for the COLA for the upcoming year from 3% to about 2.7%.
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In June, the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the average change in prices that consumers pay, had its lowest 12-month rate in more than three years. The Social Security COLA is particularly calculated using the CPI-W, which increased 2.9% in the previous year. The 3.2% COLA that users got in 2024 has been cut by a large amount.
The Senior Citizens League thinks that the COLA could get as high as 2.63% in 2025. But this raise might not fully make up for rising costs. The League says that “the average grocery item tracked by the CPI rose by 24% from 2020 to 2023.” This means that seniors and pensioners might still have trouble paying their bills even with a higher COLA. The government usually makes the official COLA change for the next year public around October.