The Social Security Administration is the federal agency that gives millions of Americans benefits through the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.
They just confirmed that the COLA will go up again in 2025. The SSA has been giving Americans monthly checks since 1935. These checks help them pay for their basic needs, enjoy retirement, and sometimes fight poverty, especially for people who qualify for the SSI program.
Along with the monthly benefits, the Social Security Administration raises the payment every year through the cost of living adjustment (COLA). This is done to help people keep up with inflation.
Social Security benefits will rise this month thanks to the 2.5% COLA increase
People who get Social Security will get higher payments before the new year starts, even though the new COLA does not start until January 2025. This is because January 1 is a holiday.
When someone is eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), they usually get paid on the first of every month, unless that day is a federal holiday or weekend.
When this happens, the SSA will move the payment to the business day before, which in this case is December 31. Because of this, more than 7 million people who get SSI will get their money a few weeks early.
With the new 2.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA), SSI recipients will get an average of $715 per month, while individuals will earn up to $967 and couples will earn up to $1,451 per month.
In addition to these different payment amounts, SSI recipients may be able to get an extra payment of $484 per month if they meet the requirements for the essential person (EP) condition.
It is important to note that people who get SSI, retired workers, survivors, and disabled people will all get new, bigger Social Security checks, as explained below:
| Retirement benefits | Social Security checks | 2.5% COLA increase | Extra income |
| On average | $1,900 | $1,948 | $48 |
| Age 62 | $2,710 | $2,778 | $68 |
| Age 67 | $3,822 | $3,918 | $96 |
| Age 70 | $4,873 | $4,995 | $122 |
| Survivor benefits | Social Security checks | 2.5% COLA increase | Extra income |
| On average | $1,505 | $1,543 | $38 |
| Individual | $1,773 | $1,817 | $44 |
| 2 Children | $3,653 | $3,744 | $91 |
| Disability benefits | Social Security checks | 2.5% COLA increase | Extra income |
| On average | $1,537 | $1,575 | $38 |
| Blind recipients | $2,590 | $2,655 | $65 |
| Maximum payment | $3,822 | $3,918 | $96 |
Why should beneficiaries keep an eye on the COLA increase?
Many people who get the COLA should already know that it comes out every year in October. Because of this, if you are one of the 72 million people who get Social Security, you probably keep a close eye on it.
The COLA changes your monthly benefit so that you can still buy things even if prices go up because of inflation. The US Consumer Price Index for Wages and Clerical Employees is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This index is also known as a measure of inflation and is what the law says allows the COLA increase.
The BLS gets information from about 7,000 individuals and families every three months through a consumer expenditure survey about the things they buy on a regular basis, ranging from personal care items to car registration fees.
This information is used to calculate the index. Once that is done, people from the BLS call stores, hospitals, and service providers to find out how much the prices of the about 80,000 goods that make up the CPI-W have changed.
In 2016, the COLA went up by a small 0.3%, and the new rate started at the start of 2017. The chart below shows how COLA increases have changed over the last ten years:
| Year | COLA increase |
| 2015 | 1.70% |
| 2016 | 0% |
| 2017 | 0.30% |
| 2018 | 2% |
| 2019 | 2.80% |
| 2020 | 1.60% |
| 2021 | 1.30% |
| 2022 | 5.90% |
| 2023 | 8.70% |
| 2024 | 3.20% |
