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,

Before leaving the White House, former President Joe Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act, ushering in significant changes for millions of Americans' economic security.

The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment officially goes into effect in December of each year -- so technically speaking, the 2.5% adjustment was the 2024 COLA. However, Social Security benefits are paid one month in arrears, so the December benefit is the monthly payment that is physically received in January.

The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior group, recently released their monthly COLA estimate, predicting that it would moderate to 2.1% in 2026.

Recipients of Social Security received an increase in benefits in 2025, as they do every year. However, new economic data and policies could spell trouble.