(NewsNation) — Older Americans are feeling the strain from high inflation, and next year’s Social Security benefit bump may not offer much relief.
The latest estimate from The Senior Citizens League projects Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be 2.66% in 2025. That’s the lowest increase since the pandemic and below today’s annual inflation rate, which has remained near 3.5% in recent months.
“With the forecast of a 2.66% COLA for 2025, it appears seniors will continue to suffer financial insecurity as much next year as they have this year,” Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League, said in a statement.
According to a survey by The Senior Citizens League, 71% of respondents said their rising bills would exceed the 3.2% COLA bump they received this year.
That majority underscores the stress retirees are feeling as they grapple with the cumulative effect of elevated inflation, which continues to show up in higher grocery prices. It’s a budget impact that’s caused many, upward of 12%, to “unretire” this year.
However, next year’s COLA increase isn’t set in stone. The final amount is calculated based on the average inflation rate from July to September, which is then compared to the same period the year before. The official announcement will be made in October before showing up in your January check.
A lower COLA bump may not feel like good news, but it’s a sign inflation is trending in the right direction compared to just a few years ago when the monthly benefit jumped 5.9% and then 8.7%.
This year, an average of almost 68 million people will receive a Social Security benefit each month, totaling about $1.5 trillion in benefits paid during the year.
In April, the average monthly benefit for retired workers was $1,915, according to the Social Security Administration. That’s roughly $80 more than a year ago.
The size of that check varies depending on how long someone worked, what they made and when they started collecting.
