Social Security Reveals 2.5% Increase in Cost-Of-Living Adjustment for Coming Year – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
10:12 AM – Thursday, October 10, 2024
Over 72 million Americans will see a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment to benefit payments in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced on Thursday.
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According to the agency, the new change will increase Social Security retirement benefits by nearly $50 per month on average starting in January 2025.
The latest increase announced on Thursday marks the lowest in years and it met experts’ expectations as Americans continue to battle inflation. Millions of recipients saw the biggest increase at 8.7% last year following years-high inflation.
Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said on Thursday that the increase will help “tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool.”
In the Labor Department’s latest inflation reading, released before the COLA announcement, consumer prices saw a 0.2 increase last month and it rose 2.4% annually.
“The COLA is a vital component of Social Security, ensuring older Americans have an inflation protected source of income in retirement,” AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said in a statement. “This adjustment means older Americans will receive needed relief to help better afford essential items from groceries to gas.”
Despite the adjustments, many older Americans may find it hard to pay their bills amid the higher prices, she added. For almost 40% of older Americans, Social Security is their primary source of income, according to AARP.
However, Jason Fichtner, chief economist for the Bipartisan Policy Center, said on Thursday that the price stability was “good for today’s beneficiaries,” but he cautioned “the biggest threat to seniors’ financial security — the depletion of Social Security’s trust fund — is looming.”
“If lawmakers fail to act, in less than a decade each and every beneficiary will face an automatic and immediate benefit cut of over 20 percent. The longer Congress delays, the bigger the Trust Fund shortfall becomes. With a new Congress and administration, next year is the time to find the bipartisan will to act.”
Furthermore, the recent figures follow weeks after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in several years. The move was made to help dampen the height of inflation.
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