November 2024
Social Security Announces 2.5% Benefit Increase for 2025
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% in 2025. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January.
Over the last decade the increase in the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) has averaged about 2.6%. The COLA was 3.2% in 2024.
Nearly 68 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 2.5% COLA beginning in January 2025. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2024. (Note: Some people receive both Social Security benefits and SSI payments).
"Social Security benefits and SSI payments will increase in 2025, helping tens of millions of people keep up with expenses even as inflation has started to cool," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $176,100 from $168,600.
Social Security begins notifying people about their new benefit amount by mail starting in early December.
This year, Social Security beneficiaries will receive a newly designed and improved COLA notice that makes it easier for customers to find the information they need most. The simplified COLA notice is now only one page, uses plain and personalized language, and provides exact dates and dollar amounts of a person's new benefit amount and any deductions.
Your clients will need to have a personal my Social Security account by November 20 to see their COLA notice online. To get started, visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
Information about Medicare changes for 2025 will be available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare, the 2025 benefit amount will be available in the my Social Security's Message Center starting in late November. Those who have not opted to receive messages online will receive their COLA notice by mail in December.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) as determined by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
You can find more information about the 2025 COLA at www.ssa.gov/cola. Please share this information with your clients.
Announcing Changes to SSI
We are pleased to announce changes to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Effective September 30, 2024, we:
- Excluded food from our In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) calculations. ISM is a type of unearned income that may affect your clients' SSI eligibility or payment amount.
- Expanded our rental subsidy policy nationwide for SSI applicants and recipients who are related to the landlord (or the landlord's spouse) as a parent or child. We no longer consider their rent discounted when their required monthly rent equals or exceeds a certain amount.
- Expanded our definition of a public assistance household. We now consider a public assistance household to be one where there is both an SSI applicant or recipient and one other household member who receives qualifying public income-maintenance (PIM) payments.
- Added Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits as an additional means-testing PIM program.
If you were previously denied SSI, you may now be eligible. Please contact your local Social Security office or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) as soon as possible, if you think these changes may affect you.
Encourage your clients to read our blog post titled Social Security Administration Announces New Efforts to Simplify SSI Applications at blog.ssa.gov/social-security-administration-announces-new-efforts-to-simplify-ssi-applications to learn more about our changes to SSI.
SSA Talks Child Benefits
Kathleen Romig, Senior Advisor in the Office of the Commissioner, joined the latest episode of SSA Talks to discuss the benefits Social Security offers to children.
As an advocate and mother of a child with disabilities, Kathleen recognizes the challenges that children and families encounter. Her awareness of these challenges and her engagement with others in the advocate community enable Kathleen to identify ways that Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) help children facing poverty.
In this episode, Kathleen discusses survivor benefits, SSI, and benefits for children with disabilities. She also discusses eligibility for adults who have a disability that began before age 22.
Your clients can listen to the episode on our SSA Talks webpage at www.ssa.gov/news/audio-series.html and subscribe to receive alerts about future episodes. You can also access past episodes like "Commissioner O'Malley's Top Priorities" and "Will Social Security be there when I retire?". For more information and news about Social Security, encourage your clients to check out our Communications Corner webpage at www.ssa.gov/news.
Please share this with your clients–and post it on social media.
Save the Date - National Disability Forum
We will host the next virtual National Disability Forum (NDF) on Wednesday, November 13, 2024. The title is "Removing Barriers to Accessing Services in Tribal Communities - Part 2." The event will take place through Microsoft Teams from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET.
For more information about the NDF, we encourage you and your clients to visit our What's New page at www.ssa.gov/ndf/. Your clients can email questions to OEA.Net.Post@ssa.gov.
