Furious seniors have expressed their frustration at the Social Security uplift for next year, with many questioning how they will afford their living expenses.
The Social Security Administration last week announced nearly 68 million Social Security recipients will see a 2.5 percent increase to their benefits in 2025.
This uplift, known as the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is the lowest since 2021 – an average increase of $49 a month.
Older Americans and senior groups have since expressed their disappointment at the raise, which they say does not reflect their changing expenses after years of high inflation.
‘My social security disability check currently is only about $60 more than my rent. January when I sign my new lease I’ll be running a negative,’ one user wrote on a Reddit thread about the increase. ‘I’m hanging on by a thread.’
This uplift, known as the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is the lowest since 2021
Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) funds will also start on December 31, 2024.
The COLA uplift is based on a specific inflation measure called the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
This tracks the price changes that urban wage earners and clerical workers pay for a basket of common consumer goods and services.
The uplift will increase the average retired workers’ benefit by $49 in 2025, hiking it to around $1,976 a month.
It is the lowest yearly increase since 2021, when beneficiaries received a 1.3 percent increase to benefits.
In 2024, there was a 3.2 percent hike, and in 2023 there was an 8.7 percent boost – the highest in four decades in response to record high inflation.
In 2022, benefits increased by 5.9 percent.
Now that the pace of inflation is slowing toward the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent goal, the COLA adjustment has come down closer toward the historical norm.
The benefit increase has averaged around 2.6 percent over the last 20 years, according to nonpartisan group The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).
But the group said that the measure by which the yearly increase is calculated fails to measure inflation as seniors experience it.
TSCL executive director Shannon Benton said this year represents ‘another lost opportunity to grant seniors the financial relief they deserve’ by changing the COLA calculation which would ‘better reflect seniors’ changing expenses.’
She suggested instituting a minimum COLA of 3 percent.
‘Our research shows that 67 percent of seniors depend on Social Security for more than half their income and that 62 percent worry their retirement income won’t even cover essentials like groceries and medical bills,’ Benton added.
And many seniors on social media are expressing exactly these concerns about being able to get by.
‘I am grateful for any increase but it’s not enough, rent goes up more than that each year, forget the increase in transportation and food and literally everything else, it won’t really make much of a difference,’ one user wrote on Reddit.
Another said: ‘There are going to be many elders that will be going without things. Many live SS check to SS check as it is. With inflation this high it’s going to be hard.’
‘The COLA needs replacing with a cost increase that reflects the actual spending of seniors,’ another person said.
Although inflation has fallen from its 2022 highs, sustained high prices have chipped away at household budgets – which is especially tough for those on a fixed income in retirement.
Food prices have risen by 20 percent in the last five years, according to Labor Department data.
The Social Security Administration last week announced nearly 68 million Social Security recipients will see a 2.5 percent increase to their benefits in 2025
Many seniors also pointed out that other benefits could also be affected by this change.
For those enrolled in Medicare, for example, Part B premiums are paid out of Social Security checks automatically.
It is not yet known how much Part B premiums are due to rise in 2025, but if it goes up by $10 a month, then the $49 Social Security raise will be whittled down to $39.
AARP chief executive officer Jo Ann Jenkins said: ‘Even with this adjustment, we know many older Americans who rely on Social Security may find it hard to pay their bills. Social Security is the primary source of income for 40 percent of older Americans.
‘While this adjustment is important, there is more we must do to ensure older Americans can continue to count on Social Security. AARP continues to call on Congress to take bipartisan action to strengthen Social Security and secure a long-term solution that Americans can rely on.’
