People mostly know Social Security for its retirement and disability payments. But there is another important program that doesn’t require people to have paid Social Security taxes in order to apply.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a government program run by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that gives SSI checks to low-income people aged 65 or older, blind people, or people with medical conditions that make it impossible for them to work.
Beneficiaries must meet the income and resource requirements set by Social Security in order to get these payments. If you are already eligible for this program, find out more about how users will soon be getting bigger checks.
Beneficiaries will get a new increase in SSI checks this year
The Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) guesstimate for 2025 has some good and some bad news for people who get SSI. In 2025, SSI benefits are likely to go up a little because the Senior Citizens League predicts a 2.63% COLA rise.
Many people who were looking for a bigger rise in their monthly payments might be let down by this one, even though it’s better than the last year’s changes. Prices stay stable when inflation goes down, but beneficiaries who get SSI checks get smaller COLA changes.
This is what causes the expected 2.63% increase for 2025. This could be the reason why the COLA has been going down over the last few years. The annual raise was 3.2% in 2024, but it was 8.7% in 2023.
Even so, the Senior Citizens League said that SSI recipients might be unhappy with this year’s change, especially since it comes after big boosts last year. With the possible 2.63 percent increase, the average SSI user, who gets about $698 a month now, would make an extra $18 a month, or $715 a year.
This adds up to an extra $216 over the course of the year. That being said, the real increase will depend on how much each SSI recipient gets in checks. For example, people who make $943 a month will get up to $968, and couples who make $1,415 a month will get up to $1,452.
It’s important to remember that the real 2025 COLA won’t be known until October 2024, even though these estimates help with planning. To figure out the COLA, the Social Security Administration uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which is a way to track inflation.
Depending on how the business is doing, the final amount may be a little different. Looking back, COLA changes in the past have been very different. For instance, there wasn’t much of a rise in 2010, 2011, or 2016.
But because of economic pressures, adjustments have been above normal over the last two years, with an increase of 5.9% in 2022 and the expected increase of 8.7% in 2023.
In the end, the projected COLA for 2025 will help with money a little, but it will be less than in recent years. People who receive should keep their hopes in check and be ready for a small gain.
As always, getting exact financial ready for the next year will depend on staying up to date on the final COLA news in October. It’s important to remember that if the 2.63% COLA raise goes through, SSI checks will go up by the following amount next year:
| Payment amounts | SSI checks | 2.5% COLA increase | Extra income |
| On average | $698 | $716 | $18 |
| Individuals | $943 | $968 | $25 |
| Couples | $1,415 | $1,452 | $37 |
| Essential person | $472 | $484 | $12 |
In addition to SSI checks, this annual increase will also be given to retired workers, survivors, and people who apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The details of each person’s increase are shown below:
Retirement benefits
- On average: $1,950
- Age 62: $2,781
- Age 67: $3,923
- Age 70: $5,001
Survivor benefits
- On average: $1,545
- Individual: $1,820
- 2 Children: $3,749
SSDI benefits
- On average: $1,577
- Blind recipients: $2,658
- Maximum payment: $3,923
Also See:- Millions of Retirees Lose Social Security — A Date Was Set