Social Security benefits will arguably lose buying power next year because the 2.5% COLA understates inflation.

Medicare Part B premiums are rising again in 2025. The jump outpaces both Social Security's 2025 COLA and inflation, further squeezing seniors.

A Social Security cost of living increase offers retirees options such as managing costs, saving or enjoying small splurges.

The most direct and obvious effect of the new COLA is the increase in monthly benefits. If your monthly Social Security benefit is $1,000 this year, it will be $1,025 starting in January 2025. If it's $2,000 now, it'll be $2,050.

Now, with the year winding down, all Social Security retirees should mark Nov. 20 as another date to remember. Here's why.

This double SSI check is due to Dec. 1 falling on a Sunday this year. Recipients, who usually receive their checks the first of the month, will get their November payment on Nov. 1, and their SSI payments for December will be distributed on Friday, Nov. 29, according to the SSA calendar.

The annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is one of the most important features of the government program. Without those annual raises, seniors would quickly find the purchasing power of their monthly annuity checks failing to meet their needs. That might feel like the case for some even with the COLA.

Still, the recent news raises a handful of questions among the retirees it impacts the most. Here are a few things you might want to know about these annual cost-of-living adjustments. The annual COLA isn't a number arbitrarily decided by the Social Security Administration.