Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January.

Over the last decade, the cost of living increase (COLA) has averaged about 2.6%. The COLA was 3.2% in 2024.

Nearly 68 million Social Security recipients will receive a 2.5% COLA starting in January 2025. The increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2024. (Note: Some people receive both Social Security benefits and SSI).

“Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase in 2025, helping tens of millions of people keep up with their spending even as inflation begins to ease,” said Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley.

Some further adjustments, which come into force in January of each year, are based on the increase in average wages. As a result of this increase, the maximum amount of income subject to Social Security tax (taxable maximum) is scheduled to increase from $168,600 to $176,100.

Social Security will begin informing people of their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December.

This year, for the first time, Social Security recipients will receive a redesigned and improved COLA notice, making it easier for customers to find the information they need most. The simplified COLA notice is now just one page, uses simple and personalized language, and includes precise dates and dollar amounts of an individual’s new benefit amount and any deductions. Find out more in our video.

People who have a personal My Social Security account holders can view their COLA notice online, which is safer, easier and faster than receiving a letter in the mail. Users can set up text or email alerts when a new message – such as their COLA notification – is waiting for them My Social security.

People must have a personal one My Log in to your Social Security account by November 20 to view the COLA notice online. To get started, visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

For information about Medicare changes for 2025, visit www.medicare.gov. For Social Security recipients enrolled in Medicare, the 2025 benefit amount is available through My The Social Security Message Center will begin at the end of November. Those who have not opted in to receive messages online will receive their COLA notification in the mail in December.

The Social Security Act regulates how the COLA is calculated. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Office Workers (CPI-W), as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For more information, visit www.ssa.gov/cola.

Tags: COLA, my social security, my social security account

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