The Social Security Administration (SSA) manages a lot of different programs that give monthly payments to more than 70 million people. It is hard to say which of these programs is more important to the people who get them.
For example, retirement benefits are very important for people who are retired and do not have much saved up. Disability benefits help people who can not work stay afloat.
And spousal and survivor benefits make sure that the families of workers can take care of themselves. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), on the other hand, may be the most helpful benefit.
This is not like most benefits; it is a hardship benefit, and people who want to get it must meet very strict requirements before they can get any help. Those who are eligible and want to be considered for the benefit must have:
- Little to no earnings, the cap in 2024 is $1,971 per month and applies to work income, pensions disability benefits and unemployment
- little to no assets, resources should not be more than, $2,000 for individuals, $3,000 for couples and if you’re a parent applying for a child, these numbers increase by $2,000
- Be over 65 years old or have blindness or another disability that impairs them.
This is why the news about the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security recipients is so important for those who get SSI.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to weight the inflation data from the third trimester of the year (July, August, and September) and figure out the COLA.
This information is then used to figure out the increase in benefits. The increase in the COLA was announced at the beginning of October. Experts tried to guess how much it would be and get SSA recipients ready for it, but most of them were too optimistic.
The COLA increase was finally set at 2.5%. You can think of this smaller rise as either good or bad.
First, the bad news: the COLA is calculated backwards, which means that costs have gone up during times of high inflation, like 2024, and beneficiaries have already paid for them.
This could cost them money that they will not be able to get back. A lower COLA is a good thing because it means less inflation, which means lower prices.
The COLA increase for SSI recipients
In 2024, the most money an individual on SSI can get is $943, and the most a couple can get is $1,415; however, there are many things that can lower this amount. For example, your SSI payment drops by about $1 for every two dollars you earn at work.
Taking all of this into account, the new amounts would be as follows after the 2.5% increase:
- The average person receiving SSI benefits would get $715
- Individuals that receive the maximum amount in benefits would get $967
- Couples that receive the maximum amount in benefits would get $1,450
- Essential person, those who aid and care for SSI recipients would be entitled to receive a maximum of $484
When does the Social Security Administration distribute these benefits
Most of the time, SSI payments are made on the first of every month. If the first of the month falls on a weekend or a national holiday, the schedule might not work as planned. In that case, benefits are given out when banks are open the day before.
This is what will happen with the 2025 first check, which will have the new amount on it. On January 1, which is a national holiday, people will get their checks.
This is because the 31st of December is those holidays. Those who do not want to wait that long can just take their last check and add 2.5% to it to find out how much they will get in benefits.
