How much will benefits increase?

Due to the post-pandemic surge in inflation, the COLA has been higher in recent years.

• 2021: 1.3%
• 2022: 5.9%
• 2023: 8.7%
• 2024: 3.2%

Sometimes benefits remain unchanged, although this is rare: since its inception in 1975, the COLA was just 0% in 2009, 2010, and 2015.

The adjustments are intended to help seniors keep up with rising prices. The consumer price index has increased by 24.6% since 2021. If the 2025 adjustment is 2.5%, SSA benefits will approximate that value with a cumulative increase of 23.4%.

The Social Security Administration will officially announce the 2025 COLA on October 10, 2024.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation continues to fall from its post-pandemic highs: The August 2024 Consumer Price Index report showed a 2.5% increase in average prices since August 2023 – the smallest 12-month increase since February 2021 .

A 2.5% COLA would result in an average increase in monthly Social Security benefits of $48 and increase the average check for retired workers to $1,966.

Social Security recipients will receive an official notice of their 2025 benefits in the mail in December. However, you will be able to access this information online through your mySocialSecurity account beginning in mid-November.

The COLA for a given year is determined by the CPI-W in the third quarter of the previous year. The 2025 COLA will be announced in October 2024, based on data from July to September.

Your specific Social Security benefits depend on a number of factors, including your income throughout your working years and the age at which you start receiving benefits.

As of June 2024, the average monthly Social Security benefit for retired workers was $1,918. For all recipients — including spouses, children and disabled workers — the average check was $1,781.

Supplementing your benefits with an employer-sponsored 401(k) account or individual retirement account (IRA) can help you live more comfortably in retirement. We ranked Charles Schwab and Betterment among the best IRAs.

• If you were born between the first and 10th of the month, the increase in check should arrive on January 8, 2025.
• If you were born between the 11th and 20th of the month, expect to be born on January 15, 2025.
• If you were born between the 21st and the end of the month, you will receive your larger check on January 22nd, 2025.

However, some recipients will receive the increase sooner.

• If you received Social Security benefits before May 1997, you will receive your first check of the year on January 3, 2025.

• If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), benefits are typically paid on the first of the month. However, since New Year’s Day is a federal holiday, these checks will be issued on December 31, 2024.

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