
According to recent projections, Social Security recipients may see the smallest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since 2021. Based on current inflation rates, the 2025 COLA is expected to be around 2.63 to 2.7 percent. This marks a historic period of consistent adjustments, with the first time in nearly 30 years that four consecutive COLAs have reached at least 2.6 percent.
The previous increases were 5.9 percent in 2022, 8.7 percent in 2023, and 3.2 percent in 2024. However, the lower percentage for 2025 may feel like a financial pinch for beneficiaries, as current inflation rates affect the prices of essential needs for seniors, such as mortgages and medical care. Janet Albrecht, a 78-year-old retired graphic designer from Indiana, Pennsylvania, has felt the impact of rising costs.
She estimates she’s paying $100 more monthly at the supermarket than before inflation, and her landlord has increased her monthly rent by $65 over the past two years. “I’m down to eating ramen for lunch, which I never ate in my life until recently,” Albrecht said.