Social Security's COLA will be 2.5% in 2025, down from 3.2% in 2024 [View all]
Source: MarketWatch
Published: Oct. 10, 2024 at 8:32 a.m. ET
Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment will be 2.5% in 2025, down from the 3.2% seen in 2024, the Social Security Administration said on Thursday. The average COLA over the last 20 years has been 2.6%, according to the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
The consumer-price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, known as CPI-W, is the index used to determine the annual COLA. That index more heavily weights costs for urban non-retirees, such as those for transportation, food, clothing and other expenses.
COLA is not a raise but an adjustment that helps the roughly 67 million Social Security beneficiaries keep up with inflationary pressures. Among Americans 65 and older, 40% rely on Social Security for half or more of their income, and about 14% depend on it for 90% or more of their income, according to AARP.
“Social Security, for most people, is the one place that is inflation-adjusted. It’s critical for keeping people afloat,” Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP, said before the announcement. “COLA may not feel like very much in the face of pricing volatility. People are struggling.”
Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/social-securitys-cola-will-be-2-5-in-2025-down-from-3-2-in-2024-fde77b01
Link to SSA PRESS RELEASE - Social Security Announces 2.5 Percent Benefit Increase for 2025
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