On July 24, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will process the final round of Social Security payments for July. Today’s payments will be issued to individuals who receive retirement benefits and were born between the 21st and 31st of any month.
While most Social Security recipients are paid based on their birthdate, there are exceptions. Those who have been claiming benefits since before May 1997 or who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) were paid earlier this month. If you have not received your payment as expected, the SSA advises waiting three business days before reaching out for assistance.
The amount of Social Security benefits varies based on several factors, including the age at which benefits begin and the individual’s highest-earning years. As of 2024, the maximum monthly benefit is $4,873 for those who retire at age 70. If retirement benefits start at the earliest eligible age of 62, the maximum benefit is $2,710.
Looking ahead to 2025, Social Security payments are expected to increase by approximately 2.6%, according to a forecast from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). This adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of the year, affecting payments starting in January. Despite this increase, TSCL reports that the buying power of Social Security benefits has diminished by 20 cents on every dollar since 2010.
TSCL chairman Edward Cates expressed concerns about the effectiveness of this adjustment, noting, “It’s unlikely that we’ll see the sustained growth needed for benefits to recover their buying power without changes to Social Security itself.”
An SSA spokesperson clarified to Newsweek that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is determined by law and reflects the percentage increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of the previous year to the current year. The official COLA announcement will be made by the Congressional Budget Office in October.
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