Personal Finance

Here’s When You Can Expect Your 2025 Social Security COLA

Maurie Backman

Published: January 7, 2025 7:51 am

Key Points from 24/7 Wall St.

• Social Security benefits are rising 2.5% in 2025.
• The timing of your first higher paycheck depends on your date of birth.
• There are ways to improve your finances if your COLA isn’t enough.
• Smart Social Security planning could help you retire early. Talk to a professional today and learn more ^(Sponsor)

Social Security benefits are eligible for an automatic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year so that seniors are able to maintain their buying power as inflation drives living costs upward. And this January, Social Security benefits are rising 2.5%.

You may be eager to know when your 2025 COLA will arrive. That depends on the timing of your monthly checks, which hinges on your year of birth.

What Social Security’s payment schedule looks like

Social Security follows a preset schedule for paying benefits. That’s a good thing, since it tells you when you can expect your money to arrive.

Here’s when your first Social Security check of 2025 — and your first COLA — will hit your bank account:

• If your date of birth falls between the 1st and 10th of the month, your first Social Security check of 2025 should arrive on Jan. 8.
• If you were born between the 11th and 20th of the month, your first Social Security check will come on Jan. 15.
• If you were born between the 21st and the end of the month, your first Social Security check will be available to you on Jan. 22.

Note that in all of these cases, the month you were born doesn’t matter so much as the day of the month when it comes to getting your timing down.

What if your 2025 Social Security COLA isn’t enough?

As mentioned, Social Security benefits are rising 2.5% this month. But that’s actually the smallest COLA to arrive in years. And it’s also coming at a time when the cost of Medicare Part B is rising.

Seniors who are signed up for both Social Security and Medicare at the same time have their Part B premiums deducted from their monthly benefits. Since the standard Part B premium is about $10 higher this year than in 2024, it’ll result in a smaller COLA for many older Americans.

If your 2025 Social Security checks aren’t enough to cover your bills, there are steps you can take to improve your financial picture. First, assess your expenses. You may be spending beyond your means if Social Security is your only income source. Look at options that include downsizing to a smaller home or monetizing your home — for example, renting out a spare room or finished basement for cash.

Another option is to see if relocating will allow you to further stretch your monthly Social Security checks. If you’re willing to start over in an area where living costs are 10% or 15% cheaper on a whole, that’s a good way to get by (though it does require a big adjustment on your part).

Finally, look at generating income to supplement your Social Security. If you don’t like the idea of going back to work part-time, join the gig economy and find a job you can do on your own schedule. That could be anything from caring for people’s pets while they’re out of town to driving for a ride-hailing service.

Your 2025 Social Security COLA should be arriving soon enough. But whether it’s a large enough raise for you to comfortably cover your living costs is a different story. If that’s not the case, consider some of the changes just mentioned so you don’t have to spend the year cash-strapped from start to finish.