Social Security COLA Benefits to Increase Less in 2025, New Estimate Says

By Zach Mentz
cleveland.com
(TNS)

The annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits is expected to decrease in 2025, according to a new estimate.

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025 is projected to be 2.57%, down from the 3.2% COLA implemented in 2024, according to The Senior Citizens League. That figure also represents a decrease from 2.63% in July’s COLA estimate, but is equal to the 2.57% projected in TSCL’s June estimate.

The 2.57% estimate is also comparable to the average COLA increase of 2.6% over the past 20 years, per TSCL. The decrease in TSCL’s projected COLA estimates for 2025 comes as the rate of inflation fell to 2.9% for July, down from 3.0% for June, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

More than three-quarters (78%) of seniors said their monthly budgets for essentials such as housing, food and medicine is higher this year than last year, according to TSCL’s 2024 Retirement Survey. In addition, 71% of seniors said persistent high prices from inflation impacting their retirement savings is among their top concerns. And 63% of seniors said they worry their retirement income will not be enough to cover the cost of essentials, per TSCL.

COLA adjustments and increases are typically announced by the Social Security Administration annually each October.

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