When does My Social Security account show updated COLA payment for January 2025?

This happens every year! They usually update the My SS accounts in early December, around the first or second week. I've been collecting retirement for 5 years now and it's always the same story - announcement in October, but we don't see actual dollar amounts till December.

Thanks for the info! So I should keep checking for another week or so? I'm just anxious to know exactly how much my increase will be.

The Social Security Administration typically updates the My Social Security accounts with the new COLA-adjusted benefit amounts in early December, usually by the second week. You should receive a mailed COLA notice in December as well, which will show your new benefit amount. The notice includes your new monthly benefit amount, the date of your first new payment, and any other adjustments like Medicare premium changes that might affect your total payment.The January 2025 payment (which most beneficiaries receive in January) will be the first to reflect the 3.2% COLA increase. If you don't see the update online by mid-December, that would be unusual and worth following up on.

That's really helpful, thank you! I'll be patient and wait until mid-December before getting worried. Do you know if the Medicare Part B premium increase will be reflected at the same time?

The MySocialSecurity portal usually updates around December 10-15th with the new COLA amounts. But if you want to calculate it yourself, just take your current benefit and multiply by 1.032 to get your new amount (before any Medicare deductions). That should get you close enough for budgeting until the official numbers appear.

That's a good idea! I'll do the math myself to get a ballpark figure. I receive $1,845 now, so that would make my new benefit about $1,904 before Medicare. That helps for planning purposes.

Last year mine didnt update until december 18!! and the year before it was like december 12? its diffrent every year lol. dont worry it will show up eventualy

Thanks, good to know it varies a bit. I'll try to be more patient!

I've been experiencing the same frustration every year with checking my account for COLA updates. Last year I got so tired of checking the website every day and getting nowhere, I finally just called Social Security directly. Spent almost 2 hours on hold though!I discovered Claimyr this year (https://claimyr.com) and it got me through to an agent in about 15 minutes. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent was able to tell me exactly when the updates would appear online and confirmed my new amount. Saved me a lot of stress rather than checking the site daily.

wait does that service actually work?? I tryed calling SS last month and gave up after an hour on hold lol

Yes, it actually works! I was skeptical too but it really did get me through to someone. Much better than wasting hours on hold or getting disconnected.

THEY NEVER UPDATE WHEN THEY SHOULD!!! Every single year it's the same story. They announce the COLA in October and then make us WAIT and WAIT to see what we'll actually get. Last year my online account didn't update until DECEMBER 28TH!!! And then my actual payment was STILL WRONG because they didn't calculate my Medicare Part B right. Had to FIGHT with them for 2 months to get it fixed. Don't hold your breath waiting for accurate information!!!

Oh no, that sounds frustrating! Did you eventually get everything sorted out? I'm worried because this is my first year on Medicare too.

Sometimes you can also check the SSA-1099 form preview in your account - occasionally that updates with the new amount before the main benefit amount display does. It's worth checking both places.

I didn't know that! I'll check the 1099 preview too. Thanks for the tip!

My sister works for SSA and she said they're updating the system in batches this year because they're migrating to a new platform. Some accounts will update in early December, others might not show the new amount until the end of the month. But everyone will get their correct payment in January regardless of when the online account updates.

This is correct. The payment processing system and the online portal display are actually separate systems. The payments will process correctly in January even if the display hasn't updated yet. But most accounts should reflect the new amount by mid-December.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I'll stop obsessively checking my account every day and wait until mid-December. I'll try calculating the approximate amount myself in the meantime. It's good to know this is normal and happens every year - this is only my second year receiving benefits so I'm still learning how everything works. I appreciate all your help!

Welcome to the Social Security community! As someone who's been navigating benefits for a few years now, I can confirm what others have said - the waiting game for COLA updates is definitely frustrating but totally normal. The December timeline everyone mentioned is spot on. One thing I'd add is that if you're enrolled in Medicare Part B, remember that the premium changes will also be reflected in your net benefit amount, so your actual deposit might be different than just applying the 3.2% increase to your current payment. The good news is SSA is pretty reliable about getting the payments right even when the online display lags behind. Hang in there!

As a newcomer to this community, I really appreciate seeing all this helpful information! I'm in a similar situation - this will be my first COLA adjustment since I started receiving benefits earlier this year. It's reassuring to know that the December timeline for online account updates is normal and that the actual payments will be processed correctly in January regardless. The tip about calculating the approximate amount myself (multiplying by 1.032) is really practical for budgeting purposes. I'm also glad to learn about checking the SSA-1099 preview as another place to look for updates. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps those of us who are new to navigating the Social Security system!