Social Security cost-of-living benefits increase announcement coming Thursday

Tens of millions of Social Security recipients will learn Thursday how big a cost-of-living boost they’ll get to their benefits next year. In advance of the announcement, analysts forecast that the benefit boost would be about 2.5% for 2025, smaller than the increase the past two years. Recipients received a 3.2% increase in benefits this year, following a historically large 8.7% jump in 2023 that was brought on by record-high inflation. More than 70 million people participate in the Social Security program, with the average benefit totaling about $1,920 a month. The AARP estimates that a 2.5% COLA would increase that by $48 a month.