What's Happening
25 mins ago

Is Spirit Airlines Worth the Gamble Amid Bankruptcy Fears?

foolfool.com
31 mins ago

Is Nu Holdings Stock a Buy Before Nov. 13?

foolfool.com
37 mins ago

SoFi Stock Sinks Despite Upbeat Outlook. Should Investors Buy the Dip?

foolfool.com
43 mins ago

3 No-Brainer Warren Buffett Stocks to Buy Right Now

foolfool.com
49 mins ago

Is UPS Stock a Buy?

foolfool.com
53 mins ago

Should You Buy Nvidia Stock Before Nov. 20? The Evidence Is Piling Up, and Here's What It Suggests.

foolfool.com
55 mins ago

Don't Forget About These 2 Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Rule Changes for 2024

foolfool.com
55 mins ago

Should You Ignore Chevron and Buy This Magnificent High-Yield Energy Stock Instead?

foolfool.com
2 hours ago

1 Wall Street Analyst Thinks The Trade Desk Stock Is Going to $150. Is It a Buy?

foolfool.com
2 hours ago

1 Little-Known Social Security Rule Could Boost Your Monthly Check Up to 26.7%, Even if You're Already Collecting Benefits

foolfool.com
2 hours ago

1 Little-Known Social Security Rule Could Boost Your Monthly Check Up to 26.7%, Even if You’re Already Collecting Benefits

retireretire.ly
2 hours ago

Trump Vs. Harris: A Nail-Biting Pre-Election Showdown

benzingabenzinga.com
2 hours ago

Kim Jong Un's Sister: Ukraine And South Korea Are 'Bad Dogs' Bred By US

benzingabenzinga.com
3 hours ago

Trump's Provocative Rhetoric Fuels Gender Dynamics

benzingabenzinga.com
3 hours ago

Is Nvidia a Buy?

foolfool.com
3 hours ago

Don't Ever Use This Word Around Mark Cuban: 'You Sound Stupid ... Because You're Trying To Sound Smart'

benzingabenzinga.com
3 hours ago

Will ASML Be a Trillion-Dollar Stock by 2030?

foolfool.com
3 hours ago

Elon Musk's Mother Does Harris Impression During TV Appearance

benzingabenzinga.com
3 hours ago

Where Will C3.ai Stock Be in 5 Years?

foolfool.com
4 hours ago

Scaramucci Says Trump 'Should Be Taken Into Custody' Over Alleged Threat Against Liz Cheney

benzingabenzinga.com

This Is Exactly When the 2025 Social Security COLA Can Be Announced, and What It Means for Retirees

If you’re among the many retirees today who rely on Social Security to make ends meet, then you may be eager to find out what your 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will amount to. The purpose of Social Security COLAs is to help beneficiaries maintain their buying power from year to year as inflation drives the cost of living upward.

Social Security COLAs are calculated based on changes in inflation that take place during the third quarter of the year. Given that it’s already October, you’d think an official number would be available at this point.

A person at a laptop.

Image source: Getty Images.

Actually, the Social Security Administration (SSA) won’t be able to announce a 2025 COLA until Oct. 10. So you’ll need to sit tight for a few more days to learn more about what to expect from your monthly benefits in the new year.

There’s a reason for the holdup

There’s a specific index that’s used to measure annual Social Security COLAs: the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). CPI-W readings are commonly released a week or so after the close of each month.

At this point, we have CPI-W data for July and August, but September is the missing piece of the puzzle. And we won’t have CPI-W data for September until Oct. 10, which is why that’s the date the SSA will be able to make an official announcement, and not sooner.

There’s a working estimate of next year’s Social Security COLA based on the CPI-W readings that are available to date, and it’s 2.5%. That number could wiggle upward or downward once September’s CPI-W is released. But it’s a number you can use as a starting point.

Even an official COLA announcement won’t give you all of your answers

At this point, you don’t have to wait much longer until Oct. 10. But even once the SSA puts out a COLA announcement, you may not know exactly how much your monthly benefit check will increase if you’re enrolled in Medicare.

People who are enrolled in Social Security and Medicare at the same time have their Part B premiums deducted from their monthly benefits automatically. But while we should learn of a 2025 Social Security COLA on Oct. 10, Medicare won’t necessarily be ready to announce its standard monthly Part B premium for 2025 by that point.

If the cost of Medicare Part B rises in 2025, it will eat into whatever COLA is applied to Social Security benefits. So you’ll need to wait on that Medicare announcement to figure out how much more money to expect each month.

As an example, say you collect $2,000 a month in Social Security and next year’s COLA ends up being 2.5%. If you’re not a Medicare enrollee, you can expect that raise to put an extra $50 in your pocket each month. But if you are enrolled in Medicare and the cost of Part B rises by $8, you’ll be left with a $42 monthly raise.

There’s a silver lining

There’s a good chance 2025’s Social Security COLA will be smaller than 2024’s. But the positive news there is that inflation is also cooling. While your Social Security check may not increase all that much, you might get relief by paying less for things like groceries and gas throughout the year.

Once you get all of the information to figure out how much your monthly income will increase in 2025, you can assess your spending to see if changes are necessary. If cutting back on bills seems like a difficult thing, look to join the gig economy if you fear money will be tight.

The nice thing about gig work is that you can do it on your own schedule. And you may find that putting in a few hours a week puts a lot more money in your bank account than next year’s Social Security COLA — regardless of what it amounts to.

The $22,924 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you’re like most Americans, you’re a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known “Social Security secrets” could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $22,924 more… each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we’re all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

View the “Social Security secrets” »

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Related Posts

Retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs offer valuable tax breaks, but they also come with a lot of rules. These rules apply not only to

You might not realize it, but your Social Security check isn’t set in stone once you claim benefits. On top of the annual COLA, which

Image source: The Motley Fool/Upsplash Most credit cards make it expensive to borrow money. On credit cards that are charged interest, the average rate is

Image source: Upsplash/The Motley Fool Mortgage rates are lower today than they were a year ago. Last October, the average 30-year loan rate was over