Social security
The 3 most important changes to Social Security for 2025: How they will affect you
Social Security beneficiaries could be affected by these three changes that will be implemented in 2025. Find out what they mean for you and your benefits.
If you are a beneficiary of the Social Security Administration retirement or Supplemental Security Income programs, it is important to be aware of the changes that could affect the payments you will receive next year.
Benefits are affected each year by a number of factors, including the cost-of-living adjustment, Medicare premiums, as well as the maximum taxable earnings, which can increase or decrease monthly payments.
Here are three of the biggest changes that could affect you next year.
Social Security benefits will rise in 2025
Thanks to a 2.5% increase in the cost-of-living adjustment, this is how average payments will rise next year, according to the Social Security Administration:
- All retired workers: $1,927 to $1,976
- Elderly couple where both receive benefits: $3,014 to $3,089
- Survivor and two children: $3,669 to $3,761
- Elderly widow(er): $1,788 to $1,832
- Disabled worker, spouse and one or more children: $2,757 to $2,826
- All disabled workers: $1,542 to $1,580
For Supplemental Security Income, the maximum monthly federal amounts will be $967 for an eligible individual, $1,450 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $484 for an essential person.
Although they are not related to the COLA increase, the maximum amounts that a retiree can access will also increase by 2025. According to the official SSA payment table, for 2025, the maximum benefit at age 62 will be $2,831; at age 65, $3,374; at age 66, $3,795; at age 67, $4,043; and at age 70 and older, $5,108.
The exact amount sent depends on each beneficiary, as Social Security payments are calculated individually. To get an estimate, you can add 2.5% to your current benefits. SSA will notify beneficiaries of their new amount by mail or through their my Social Security account.
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The maximum taxable income will increase
To receive the maximum monthly payment, you must meet certain criteria. One of them is that you must pay Social Security payroll taxes on the maximum taxable income in your 35 highest-earning years.
Like the COLA, the taxable income limits change each year. This amount is tied to the national average wage index, so it tends to increase annually. In 2024, only the first $168,600 has been subject to these taxes. By 2025, the amount will rise to $176,100.
More money will be needed to obtain Social Security credits
To be eligible to claim Social Security benefits, you must meet several requirements, including accumulating 40 work credits over your lifetime, with a maximum of four credits per year.
To get a credit, you need to record certain income. In 2024, a single work credit is equivalent to $1,730 of income. However, in 2025, the amount to earn a credit will increase to $1,810.
People with a full-time job, even with a minimum wage, generate the income necessary to guarantee the four labor credits they will need next year.
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