2025 Social Security COLA Increase: Millions of Americans look forward to hearing about the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) every year. This change is important because it makes sure that the benefits from Social Security keep up with the cost of living.
The COLA helps protect the purchasing power of people who depend on Social Security, like retirees, disabled people, and survivors, as the cost of living rises. The COLA helps make sure that people can still pay for things like housing, food, and medical care even when prices go up by changing their benefits to reflect inflation.
COLA rise: 2025 as a future date
In 2025, the official increase based on the most recent inflation data will be disclosed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in October.
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The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which tracks changes in prices in important categories like food and healthcare, is used to calculate this annual adjustment.
Because of the recent high rate of inflation, beneficiaries have seen significant increases.
For instance, a significant 8.7% COLA for 2023—the highest increase in more than 40 years—was caused by a spike in consumer prices.
Retirees are looking at an average monthly Social Security bump of $48, or an increase of 2.5%, according to projections released on Wednesday. https://t.co/83qzbLSduy
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 15, 2024
The adjustment was 3.2% in 2024, which was more moderate.
However, the current estimate for 2025 indicates a more restrained 2.5% increase, which is consistent with declining inflation trends.
The final adjustment will be based on the July, August, and September inflation figures.
With a 2.4% increase in August, the CPI-W has so far shown lower year-over-year increases in those months.
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The upcoming COLA is expected to be smaller than in the past two years, but it could still change since September’s data is not yet available.
The new benefit amounts will take effect in January 2025 after the official COLA is announced in October. This means the average Social Security recipient, who gets about $1,920 per month, could see a $48 increase.
Though this increase might seem small, it helps retirees keep up with rising costs, even as inflation slows down. However, some costs, like rent and groceries, are still going up faster than others, which means the COLA’s impact may be limited for older adults.
This highlights the importance of managing other sources of income besides Social Security when planning for retirement. While the COLA helps, it may not fully cover all price increases, especially during economic challenges.
