5 Important Social Security COLA Dates to Know for 2025

If Social Security benefits make up a portion of your monthly income, it's important to stay on top of changes to benefits. Otherwise, budgeting effectively will become more challenging.

Your Social Security benefits amount is set to rise by 2.5% in 2025 as the newest cost of living adjustment (COLA) takes effect. 

But when can you expect to see that increase added to your check? And what other important Social Security dates should you keep an eye on for next year?

Here is a quick summary of the key Social Security COLA dates you must know for 2025.

The Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) is a yearly change to Social Security benefits that accounts for rising inflation. The COLA is intended to make sure that retirees do not see their living standards decline due to rising prices.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) relies on data assembled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine how high the cost of living is now compared to the prior year.

As long as the rate of change is higher than 0.1%, the SSA will implement a COLA. In October, the SSA announced a COLA of 2.5% for next year, which should help retirees eliminate some money stress in 2025.

This year's COLA increase is 2.5%, but the exact dollar amount by which your benefits amount will increase depends on how much you already receive in benefits.

To ensure you know ahead of time what your new benefits check will look like, the SSA will send you a letter in early December detailing the changes, including exactly how much money you will receive during 2025.

Along with receiving a notice by mail, the SSA will also send you a straightforward, short message in your "my Social Security" message center in early December 2024 informing you of the upcoming change. 

You will only get this message if you have set up a my Social Security account at the SSA website.

If you have changed your communication settings in my Social Security to receive online notifications only, you'll receive a notice in your my Social Security inbox instead of a physical letter.

The letter you receive shouldn't be more than a page long, and you should be able to clearly tell how much money you'll be getting and when the updated payments will start.

COLA increases apply to both Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. These two benefits are delivered to beneficiaries on separate schedules.

Individuals who receive SSI benefits usually receive those benefits on the first of the month. But since Jan. 1, 2025, is a holiday, the updated SSI benefit will be paid out on Dec. 31, 2024.

Checks paid to individuals who receive Social Security only (not both SSI and Social Security benefits) will start to hit bank accounts on Jan. 8, 2025.

As with all Social Security payments, the Jan. 8 payment goes out to individuals who were born between the first and 10th day of their birth month.

For example, if you were born on April 4, you receive Social Security benefits on the second Wednesday of each month. This means your first Social Security payment of the year at the adjusted amount will be paid out on Jan. 8.

If you were born between the 11th and 20th day of your birth month, you receive Social Security benefits on the third Wednesday of the month. 

And if you were born between the 21st and 31st of your birth month, you receive Social Security payments on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

This means beneficiaries who haven't received their new Social Security payments by Jan. 8 can look forward to receiving that money on the following dates:

• Individuals born between the 11th and 20th: Jan. 15, 2025
• Individuals born between the 21st and 31st: Jan. 22, 2025

During 2025, the SSA will go through the same process of examining the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index and calculating a cost of living adjustment that will be announced in October.

Keep an eye on the news or press releases from the SSA to learn how much your benefits amount will change in 2026.

Learning about upcoming changes to your Social Security benefits a crucial part of setting yourself up for a stress-free retirement.

Now that you know when to expect your new-and-improved benefit amount, start preparing January's budget with confidence.