Your Social Security check going up in 2025? What an increase could mean

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CLEVELAND (WJW) — Coming out of the pandemic, American bank accounts continue to feel the sting of inflation, and that includes retirees — and those who rely on Social Security .

In looking at March inflation data, the Senior Citizens League , which highlights issues affecting older Americans, estimated that the 2025 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) would be 2.6% (up from 1.7% the month prior).

This comes after Social Security beneficiaries saw their monthly checks go up by 3.2% this year and 8.7% in 2023. The average COLA in recent years has been 2.6%, according to FOX Business News.

Of course, the Social Security Administration does not officially announce COLA adjustments — which they base on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) data from July through September — for the year ahead until mid-October.

“If the COLA increases by 2.6%, that will be an approximately $45 increase. What can you buy for that? Not much,” TSCL director Shannon Benton said in the March report.

She also said the non-profit organization is continuing to explore what this means for seniors’ dwindling purchasing power.

In the meantime, those affected just have to wait.

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