HARRISBURG (TNS) — Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) and Social Security increases are expected to be “historic” this year, according to various financial sources.
But whether they’ll be historically “good” or “bad” kind of depends.
According to The Motley Fool, Social Security COLAs haven’t been revealed to the general public just yet and won’t be till Thursday, Oct. 10.
Newsweek explains how this benefit — which goes to those aged 62 years and older — is calculated based upon the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which follows how employed U.S. residents spend their money.
Sometimes there is no COLA, adds Newsweek. Other years like 2023 have seen huge increases by as much as 8.7 percent.
However, the same Motley Fool article reports that forecasts suggest these adjustments “will result in something that hasn’t been seen in approximately 30 years”: The 2025 COLA is estimated to be around 2.63 to 2.7 percent depending on who you ask (like TheStreet), marking the first time in that roughly three decade period that four COLAs in a row have reached at least 2.6 percent (2022, 2023 and 2024 saw increases of 5.9 percent, that aforementioned 8.7 percent, and 3.2 percent, respectively).
While this sounds great, The Motley Fools notes that current inflation rates are rising the prices of necessary senior needs such as mortgages and medical care expenses. Going from a rate as high as 8.7 percent in 2023 to 2.6 percent in 2025 can be viewed more of a hit to beneficiaries’ wallets.
Regardless of estimates, no one will really know until Oct. 10.
