When Your Social Security Payment Goes Up in 2025
The 2025 Social Security COLA is 2.67 percent
Social Security payments increased by 2.67 percent in January 2025. This yearly increase is called a Cost-of-Living Adjustment, or COLA. It means if you received $1,000 per month in December 2024, you received approximately $1,026.70 in January 2025.
The COLA is calculated by the Social Security Administration using inflation data from the third quarter of the previous year. The 2.67 percent figure was announced in October 2024 and took effect automatically on January 1, 2025. You do not need to do anything to receive it — the increase appears in your bank account or check on your regular payment date.
This COLA applies to Social Security retirement benefits, survivor benefits, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If you receive any of these payments, your January 2025 payment reflects the increase.
Key Takeaways
- The 2025 COLA of 2.67 percent took effect automatically in January 2025 with no action required on your part.
- Your exact payment increase depends on what you received in December 2024, multiplied by 2.67 percent.
- Social Security mails a notice called the SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S each January showing your new annual benefit amount.
- If you work while receiving Social Security before your full retirement age, the COLA does not change the earnings limit that reduces your payment.
- The COLA amount changes every year based on inflation measured from July through September of the prior year.
When the 2025 payment increase arrives
Social Security payments are issued on a schedule based on your birth date. Most people receive payments on the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month. The January 2025 COLA increase arrived on your regular payment date in January — not on a separate date.
If you receive your payment by direct deposit, the increase appeared in your bank account on your scheduled payment date. If you receive a paper check, it arrived in the mail on that same date. There is no separate notification payment or bonus check.
You can find your specific payment date by logging into your my Social Security account at ssa.gov, calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, or checking a recent payment stub or bank statement to see the pattern.
How to find your new payment amount
The Social Security Administration sends a notice each January showing your new annual benefit amount after the COLA increase. This notice is called the SSA-1099 (if you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident) or SSA-1042S (if you are a noncitizen). The notice arrives by mail or through your my Social Security account.
The notice shows your monthly benefit amount for 2025, the total annual amount, and the effective date of the increase. Keep this notice for your records — you may need it for taxes, housing assistance, or other programs that use your Social Security income to determine what you receive.
If you do not receive a notice by mid-January, log into my Social Security or call 1-800-772-1213 to request one. The notice is free and comes directly from Social Security, not from a third party.
What the COLA does and does not change
The COLA increases your monthly payment amount. It does not change the age at which you can receive your full retirement benefit, the rules about working while receiving benefits, or the amount you can earn before your payment is reduced.
If you are under your full retirement age and working, Social Security still reduces your payment by $1 for every $2 you earn above the annual earnings limit. The 2025 earnings limit is $23,400 (this limit changes yearly, but the COLA does not affect it). The COLA only increases the dollar amount of your base benefit; it does not raise the threshold at which reductions begin.
Similarly, if you are married and receiving a spousal benefit, your spousal payment also increases by the same 2.67 percent. If you are receiving survivor benefits as a family member of a worker who has died, those payments increase by 2.67 percent as well.
COLA and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
If you receive SSI, the 2025 COLA increased your federal payment amount by 2.67 percent. The federal SSI payment for an individual in 2025 is $943 per month (for a couple, it is $1,415). Your actual payment may be higher or lower depending on your state, because some states add money on top of the federal amount.
The COLA does not change the resource limit (the amount of money and property you can own and still receive SSI) or the income limit. These limits are set separately and change only if Congress changes the law. Your SSI payment still counts as income if you are receiving other benefits, and the COLA does not change how that works.
If you receive both SSI and Social Security, both payments increase by 2.67 percent in January 2025.
How COLA is calculated each year
The Social Security Administration calculates the COLA using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Specifically, they compare the average CPI-W for July, August, and September of one year to the same three months of the previous year.
For the 2025 COLA, Social Security compared the average CPI-W from July through September 2024 to the average from July through September 2023. The result was a 2.67 percent increase. This calculation is automatic and happens the same way every year.
The COLA is announced in October of each year and takes effect the following January. If there is no increase in the CPI-W, there is no COLA that year — your payment stays the same. This has happened three times since 2000 (in 2010, 2011, and 2016).
Reporting the COLA on your taxes
If you file federal income taxes, your Social Security benefit (including the COLA increase) may be taxable depending on your total income. The SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S notice you receive in January shows the amount you received in 2024 (before the 2025 increase). You will use the 2024 amount on your 2024 tax return.
For your 2025 tax return, you will report the 2025 amount, which includes the COLA increase. The notice you receive in January 2025 will show your 2025 benefit amount. Keep both notices for your records.
Whether your benefits are taxable depends on your combined income, which includes your Social Security benefit, wages, interest, and other income. If you are unsure whether you owe taxes on your benefits, contact the IRS or a tax professional, or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to do anything to get the 2025 COLA increase?
No. The increase is automatic and happens on your regular payment date in January 2025. You do not need to contact Social Security, fill out a form, or take any action. If you receive Social Security, you already have the increase.
What if I did not receive a payment increase in January?
Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to report the issue. Have your Social Security number and a recent payment statement ready. If your payment did not increase, there may be a processing error or a hold on your account that needs to be resolved.
Does the COLA increase affect my Medicare premiums?
The COLA may affect your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums indirectly. Social Security uses a "hold harmless" rule that protects most beneficiaries from premium increases larger than their COLA increase. However, new Medicare enrollees and higher-income beneficiaries may not be protected. Contact Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 for details about your specific situation.
Will the 2026 COLA be higher or lower than 2.67 percent?
The 2026 COLA depends on inflation from July through September 2025, which has not yet occurred. Social Security will announce the 2026 COLA in October 2025. There is no way to predict it now.
Can I get a PDF of the official payment schedule?
Social Security publishes payment schedules on ssa.gov showing the dates when payments are issued each month. You can view and print these schedules from the Social Security website. Your personal payment date is based on your birth date and does not change year to year unless you request a change.