The 2025 Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Is Almost Official, and It Could Reveal a Surprising Benefit for Many Retirees

The Social Security Administration will announce the 2025 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, on Oct. 10, and it could disappoint many retirees.Over the last three years, seniors have gotten used to super-sized raises. The COLAs for 2022, 2023, and 2024 were 5.9%, 8.7%, and 3.2%, respectively. But retirees could be in line for just a 2.5% raise in 2025, as things stand today.However, there’s a surprising benefit to a lower COLA for many retirees, and it could mean many seniors are better off with a smaller monthly benefits check.Image source: Getty Images.How the government calculates the Social Security COLAThe annual cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security is designed to help Social Security benefits keep up with inflation. The Social Security Administration uses a subset of the consumer price index known as the CPI-W, which measures the cost of a basket of goods and services representative of the typical spending for an urban wage earner or clerical…