Social Security’s COLA is On the Ballot

The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, in response to the news that Social Security’s 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be 2.5 percent:

“The automatic annual cost-of-living adjustment is one of Social Security’s most essential and unique features. It is intended to ensure that benefits do not erode over time.

However, the formula currently used to calculate annual COLAs under-measures the expenses that Social Security beneficiaries face. Seniors spend a greater proportion of their income on medical expenses―and the Social Security COLA should reflect that.

Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced legislation that (among other improvements to Social Security) would update the COLA formula to reflect the real cost-of-living for seniors and people with disabilities. When Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris served in the Senate, she co-sponsored one of those bills. So did vice presidential nominee Tim Walz when he served in the House.

Republicans have a different perspective. The Republican Study Committee (which comprises over 80% of House Republicans) proposes annual budgets that include Social Security cuts. Page 104 of the Fiscal Year 2025 Republican Study Committee Budget calls the automatic nature of COLAs a “problem” and implies that they should be subjected to annual Congressional approval. It also claims that the current COLA formula is too generous. Social Security beneficiaries likely disagree!

The bottom line is that Democrats want to make annual COLAs more accurate and generous, while Republicans want to make them stingier. Democrats also support other policies that would lower costs for Social Security beneficiaries, including Harris’s recently released plan to expand Medicare to include home care, hearing, and vision benefits. Older voters should bear that in mind this November.”