Social Security is responsible for providing benefits to low-income people. These benefits are undergoing changes with the new adjustments being introduced by the Donald Trump administration. At the beginning of this year, benefit amounts increased by 2.5% as the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) went into effect. This adjustment is made due to inflation and widespread price increases.
“Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5 percent in 2025. The 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to nearly 68 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2025. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million SSI recipients will begin on December 31, 2024,” says the official statement.
By implementing a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year, some of the benefit’s purchasing power can be preserved
The purpose of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not affected by inflation. It is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Employees (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. If there is no increase, there can be no cost-of-living adjustment. This is how government officials explain it.
Therefore, by implementing a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) each year, some of the benefit’s purchasing power can be preserved. For 2025, the COLA was 2.5%, and as a result, benefits increased, on average, by $50. In 2024, the maximum SSI payment for an eligible individual was $11,321.49 annually, while an eligible couple received $16,453.84 annually, and an essential person received $5,673.73 annually. With the 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase that took effect in January 2025.
The maximum SSI payment for an eligible individual is $11,604.53 annually, or $967 monthly
Remember, the SSA makes payments to beneficiaries for several types of benefits, including regular Social Security benefits for retirees, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for elderly and blind individuals with few or no other resources, and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for people with disabilities.
For the latter, in 2025, the maximum SSI payment for an eligible individual is $11,604.53 annually, or $967 monthly. An eligible couple will receive $17,404.87 annually, or $1,450 monthly, and an essential person will receive $5,815.57 annually, or $484 monthly.
Payments: $967 for an eligible individual; $1,450 for an eligible couple
In order to qualify for SSI benefits, total resources must not exceed $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. As such, the maximum monthly SSI federal payments are as follows, as per the SSA: $967 for an eligible individual; $1,450 for an eligible couple; $484 for an essential person.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments are typically made on the first day of each month, while both regular Social Security and Social Security Disability Insurance payments are made on the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays of each month, depending on the beneficiary’s date of birth.
Keep update in order not to get confused or misunderstand information
Regarding retirement assistance, it is important to remember that the full retirement age increased in 2025 and is now 66 years and ten months for those born in 1959. In 2026, the full retirement age will increase to 67 for those born in 1960 and later, and after that, the full retirement age will no longer increase.
As we tend to recommend, it’s important to keep always informed. Some rules come changing almost weekly, so keep update in order not to get confused or misunderstand information that is not been confirmed.
