The Social Security COLA series can help retirees, disability and SSI recipients see if the latest 2025 COLA projection is good or not. Comparing the current, future, and past COLAS can be highly revealing.
Undoubtedly, most people receiving a Social Security or SSI benefit may want to get a COLA increase. However, COLAs are not always accurate and they can cause loss of buying power. That is what a Senior Citizens League report showed, a 36% loss since 2000.
Social Security COLAs in the last 5 years
The COLA announced in 2023 was 3.2%. So, benefits for the next year, 2024, were 3.2 percent higher after this boost. Social Security recipients enjoyed a much higher COLA in 2023. SSA announced in October 2022 that the Cost of Living Adjustment would be 8.7%.
Social Security recipients also got a fantastic boost in 2022, when the Administration announced a 5.9% increase in 2021. The lowest COLA in the last five years was announced in 2020, for the 2021 COLA. It was just 1.3%. The increase announced in 2019 was slightly higher, but it was just 1.6%.
For your information, the latest 2025 COLA projection for Social Security is about 2.63% according to the Senior Citizens League. It is not a high COLA, but it is not one of the lowest in the series.
Social Security COLAs years 2014-2018
Even if the COLA announced in 2014 may have been a disappointment, just 1.7%, the one unveiled in 2015 was a complete letdown, 0.0%. So, it would be best not to complain about the current projections because it could be much worse.
The COLA released in 2016 was not a good one either. There was little difference between the 0.0% in 2015 and the 0.3% in 2016. The next Cost of Living Adjustment was much better for Social Security recipients in 2017, 2%.
In 2018, it went on growing slightly up to 2.8%, almost a 3 percent boost for retirees and other recipients. Just an interesting fact, the highest COLA since 1975 was unveiled in 1980, a staggering 14.3%. If you receive SNAP benefits, your COLA will arrive in early October.
Source: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/colaseries.html