2025 COLA Projections May Be Unfavorable for U.S. SSDI and SSI Disability Recipients
The 2025 COLA increase may not be as high as many U.S. disability recipients expect: According to the Senior Citizens League, the cost-of-living adjustment is likely to be lower.
In fact, they claim that the COLA for 2025 could be around 2.57%. So, this is much lower than the 3.2% COLA increase for 2024. While both seem like low amounts, there is a big difference when you consider the total increase over the course of a year, rather than a month.
How will the 2025 COLA affect SSDI and SSI disability recipients?
The problem is that the Social Security system uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Employees, which may not reflect reality because workers don’t buy the same things as disability recipients.
Therefore, it is better to use the Consumer Price Index for Americans age 62 and older (R-CPI-E), which gives an indication of the real needs of both the elderly and the disabled, as they may require additional medical expenses.
Additionally, a low COLA can lead to less purchasing power: Social Security recipients’ purchasing power has declined 36% since 2000, according to a 2023 Senior Citizens League report.
Projected SSI and SSDI Amounts After 2025 COLA
The maximum Social Security Disability benefit is $3,822, but very few recipients receive that amount; the average benefit is much more common among disability recipients.
If you received an average SSDI check worth $1,537, your new disability benefit after the 2.57% COLA increase could be $1,576. Thus, a disability recipient would receive an additional $39 per month, or about $468 per year.
Supplemental Social Security income recipients will receive an average of about $698 in 2024. The new amount after the COLA increase in 2025 could be $715, or about $17 extra per month, or $204 extra per year. Married couples can receive up to $1,415, so their checks could be up to $1,451 per month.