The 2025 COLA increase may not be as high as many disability recipients expected in the United States. According to the Senior Citizens League, there could be a lower Cost of Living Adjustment.
In fact, they claim the 2025 COLA could be about 2.57%. Therefore, it is much lower than the 3.2% COLA boost in 2024. Even if they both seem to be low amounts, there is a big difference if you think about the total increase per year rather than per month.
How could the 2025 COLA affect SSDI and SSI disability beneficiaries?
The thing is Social Security uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. This may not reflect the reality because workers do not buy the same things as disability recipients.
Hence, it would be better to use the Consumer Price Index for Americans 62 years of age and older, or R-CPI-E. In this way, it can show the real needs because both seniors and disability recipients may need additional medical expenses.
What is more, a low COLA may result in a loss of buying power. According to the Senior Citizens League report for 2023, Social Security recipients have lost 36% of buying power since 2000.
Possible SSI and SSDI amounts after the 2025 COLA
The maximum Social Security Disability Insurance benefit is $3,822, however, few recipients get so much money. Average payments are much more common among disability recipients.
If you get an average SSDI check worth $1,537, your new disability benefit after the 2.57% COLA increase could be $1,576. Thus, disability recipients could get about $39 extra per month or about $468 per year.
Supplemental Security Income recipients get about $698 on average in 2024. Their new amount after the 2025 COLA boost could be $715. So, it will just be about $17 extra monthly or $204 per year. Married couples can get up to $1,415 so their checks could be up to $1,451 per month.
