More than 53 million Americans receive Social Security retirement benefits, as of the latest data, and millions more rely on Social Security survivors and disability benefits. While Social Security makes up a substantial portion of most beneficiaries' retirement income, it's the only inflation-protected source of income for many of them. After all, if you have a 401(k) or other retirement savings account, you don't get annual adjustments when inflation is high.

On the other hand, the Social Security Administration, or SSA, examines recent inflation data every year and, if warranted, applies a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. This helps the tens of millions of beneficiaries, as well as those who rely on Social Security survivor or disability benefits, to keep up with rising costs over time.

Social Security's COLA for 2024 was 3.2%, which followed a massive inflation-driven 8.7% adjustment in 2023 and a 5.9% boost in 2022. Here's when we'll find out what the 2025 COLA is and exactly how it will be determined.

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Source Fool.com