How to calculate our 2025 Social Security COLA increase for Marketplace insurance application?

Yes, the 2.5% COLA is applied to your gross benefit amount before any deductions like Medicare premiums or tax withholdings. So for both you and your husband, take the gross monthly benefit amount and multiply by 1.025 to get your new benefit amount. For your husband, the Part B premium will likely change too, but that's deducted after the COLA is calculated. If you have your most recent benefit verification letter, it should show the gross amount. You can also check your December benefit statement when it arrives - it will show both the current and new payment amounts.

why does ssa always do system maintenance when people NEED to use the site?? i swear they time it that way on purpose. last year i couldnt get in for A WEEK right when i needed my benefit verification for my apartment application!!!

The 2.5% COLA will be reflected in your January 2025 payment (which you receive in January). To be precise in your calculations: 1. For your husband: Take his current gross benefit (before Medicare deduction) × 1.025 2. For yourself: Take your current benefit × 1.025 However, keep in mind that Medicare Part B premiums are also increasing for 2025 from $174.70 to $185.30 for most people, which will affect your husband's net payment. The COLA is applied first, then the new Medicare premium is deducted. For Marketplace applications, they want to know your expected annual income, so multiply the new monthly amount by 12 for each of you.

My brother had this same problem last year with healthcare.gov. They made him estimate his SS income but then it was wrong and he had to pay back some of his tax credit thing. Suuuper annoying!!! Good luck!

If you're having trouble accessing your MySocialSecurity account, I highly recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last month - couldn't access my account and needed income verification for a mortgage application. Used their service and got through to a real SSA agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours or days. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. The agent was able to verify my income with the COLA increase and email me a benefit verification letter right away.

To clear up some confusion in this thread: 1. COLA increases take effect with January payments (not December). 2. Social Security payments are for the current month, not the previous month (except for Supplemental Security Income). 3. For Marketplace applications, report your expected total annual income for the upcoming year. For 2025, that would be your new monthly benefit (with COLA) × 12 months. 4. The Social Security website often does maintenance on weekends and evenings - try accessing it on a weekday morning for better results.

Just to clarify on the timing: Social Security retirement benefits are paid in the current month, but they're paid based on eligibility from the previous month. That's why there's often confusion. SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is different - it's paid at the beginning of the month for that same month. For your Marketplace application, you'll want to provide your expected annual income for the calendar year 2025, which would include 12 months of your COLA-adjusted benefits. If your situation changes during the year, you can update your Marketplace application.

My wife and I went thru this last year. What a headache! We ended up estimating too high and got less subsidy than we shoulda. Make sure you ONLY count the SS income that's taxable for marketplace (which isnt the same as taxable for IRS). I think theres a worksheet on healthcare.gov somewhere.

One last important point: For Marketplace insurance income calculations, you need to report your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which may include some non-taxable Social Security benefits depending on your other income. The Marketplace uses a specific calculation for Social Security benefits that differs from normal tax rules. If your income is below certain thresholds, you may not need to count all of your Social Security benefits toward your Marketplace MAGI. I recommend using the Marketplace's income calculator tool on healthcare.gov to get the most accurate estimate for your specific situation.