When do SSI beneficiaries see their first 2025 COLA adjusted payment?
Social Security payments will get a 2.5% boost next year thanks to the 2025 COLA. Here are the first payments the SSA will send reflecting the increase.
In 2025, more than 68 million Americans will see a 2.5% increase in their Social Security benefits, which include payments for retired workers, survivors and disability insurance (SSDI), as well as such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.
This increase is thanks to the cost of living adjustment (COLA), which is calculated each year based on inflation so as not to affect the purchasing power of workers. Though it has just been announced, beneficiaries have had to wait until it takes effect to see the increase reflected.
The COLA goes into effect at the start of the new year and is applied for the first time on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments.
Therefore, the first increased Social Security payments will be sent on the following dates:
- Tuesday, December 31, 2024: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment and benefits for those who began receiving their payments before May 1997
- Wednesday January 8: Payments for beneficiaries with a date of birth between the 1st and the 10th
- Wednesday January 15: Payments for beneficiaries with dates of birth between the 11th and the 20th
- Wednesday January 22: Payments for beneficiaries with dates of birth between the 21st and 31st
How is COLA calculated?
The COLA is linked to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Workers and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
The calculation takes into account the CPI-W data from the third quarter of the previous year and compares them with those from the third quarter of the current year, that is, the data from July, August and September of both years are compared.
If there has been an annual increase in CPI-W the Social Security Administration (SSA) increases Social Security payments by that percentage.