The Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Forecast for 2025 Was Just Updated. The Outlook for Retirees Remains Grim.
The Social Security program undergoes several important changes each year to keep benefits aligned with prices and wages, but the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is the most anticipated. COLAs are supposed to reimburse Social Security recipients for the buying power that benefits lost in the prior year. However, whether COLAs are truly serving that purpose is questionable.
For instance, two-thirds of surveyed seniors said the 2024 COLA failed to cover the increased household expenses they incurred last year, according to The Senior Citizens League. Similarly, half of surveyed retirees worry substantial spending cuts will be required to keep up with inflation, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Those statistics imply that Social Security benefits have lost buying power. Unfortunately, the latest 2025 COLA forecast suggests the situation could get worse next year. Here's what you should know.
Source Fool.com
