The Social Security Administration (SSA) has not sent the new 2025 COLA increase to all American retirees. This is because not all retirees share the same paydays. Some got their annual boost on January 3 and others on January 8, 2025.
To receive the COLA increase of 2.5% from Social Security on January 15 or 22, you cannot have received any of the previous payments this month from the Agency. What is more, you must have been born after the 10th.
Qualifying birthdays for Social Security payments on Jan. 15 & 22
If you are a retiree and your birthday is from the 11th to the 20th, your monthly payment will be issued on January 15. On the contrary, if your birthday is from the 21st to the 31st, your check or direct deposit will be delivered on January 22.
The last two paydays will bring higher checks than in December 2024. On average, they will be $50 higher. According to the Social Security Administration, the average payment will be about $1976.
In case you do not know it, the previous average amount was $1,927. So, the boost has been lower than in the previous years. Actually, the 2025 COLA is lower than the average in the last decade. Thus, retirees are getting fewer dollars than in the past but inflation seems to be more stable.
Could your Social Security boost be higher or lower than $50?
It is more than likely that you receive a completely different amount. If your monthly payment was $1,000 in December 2024, you will receive a check worth $1,025 in January 2025.
Therefore, you will receive a boost that is lower than average. In fact, it is half the amount the average boost is. If your monthly payment was worth $4,000 last year, your new Social Security payment after COLA will be $100 higher.
As you can see, the more money you received from Social Security in 2024, the higher your monthly payment will be in 2025. A good strategy to save money is to keep this extra money aside to create an emergency fund for future and unexpected expenses.