Thankfully, Social Security benefits are raised automatically nearly every year to help them compensate for inflation. Without those cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), recipients would practically be guaranteed to see their financial situations worsen from year to year as inflation gradually erodes the value of a dollar.

By now, all seniors on Social Security should have gotten their first checks for 2025. With the latest 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in effect, the average benefit has climbed to $1,976 per month. That's about $49 higher than the average in December 2024.

If you receive Social Security benefits, you are getting a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) this year. This means your retirement benefits check is going to be bigger than it was before. That's the good news.

Social Security benefits received a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2025, but for many retirees, this is not enough to keep up with rising prices. Their monthly checks don't go as far as they used to,

Data from TSCL’s 2024 Senior Survey shows 62% of older Americans worry their retirement income won’t even cover essentials such as groceries and medical bills. Will 2026's COLA increase help?

For retirees, healthcare expenses are unavoidable and increasingly unaffordable. Fidelity Research says a 65-year-old retiring in 2024 can expect to spend an average of $165,000 on healthcare and medical expenses throughout retirement — a 5% jump over the previous year and more than double 2002’s estimate.

According to a recent Social Security COLA survey by The Motley Fool that asked 2,000 retirees about the COLA, 81% of retirees say that the 2025 COLA will not help them keep up with their essential living expenses. And it isn't hard to see why.