Will I miss out on Social Security COLAs if I file at 65 instead of waiting until FRA?
I'm turning 65 in a few months and trying to decide when to start my SS benefits. My neighbor told me something that's got me worried - she said if I start taking Social Security at 65 instead of waiting until my full retirement age (67), I won't get the cost of living adjustments (COLAs) each year. That doesn't sound right to me, but I can't find a clear answer on the SSA website. Does anyone know if this is true? I was planning to file at 65 because I need the income, but missing out on COLAs would be a big deal with inflation these days.
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Rami Samuels
your neighbor is 100% wrong! you get the COLA increases no matter when you start taking benefits, even if you claim early
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Tami Morgan
•Thanks for the quick response! That's a huge relief. Do you know where on the SSA website it confirms this? I'd like to show my neighbor since she's also making decisions about when to file.
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Haley Bennett
What your neighbor told you is incorrect. All Social Security beneficiaries receive the annual COLA adjustments regardless of when they started collecting benefits. This is one of the most common misconceptions I see. What IS true is that filing early (before your Full Retirement Age of 67) will permanently reduce your monthly benefit amount - approximately 6.67% per year for the first 3 years and 5% per year for any additional years you file early. So claiming at 65 would reduce your benefit by about 13.3% compared to waiting until 67. However, once you start receiving benefits, you'll get the same percentage COLA increases as everyone else. The SSA announces these increases each October for the following year.
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Tami Morgan
•Thank you for the detailed explanation! I understand the reduction for claiming early, but I'm glad to hear I'll still get the COLAs. So if there's a 3% COLA next year, both early filers and those who waited until FRA will see a 3% increase in their monthly checks?
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Douglas Foster
my sister started SS at 62 and she DEFINITELY gets the cola increases every year!!! she just got the big one last January like everybody else. your neighbor doesn't know what shes talking about
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Nina Chan
•This is exactly right. I'm a retired financial advisor who specialized in Social Security claiming strategies, and ALL beneficiaries receive the annual COLA adjustment regardless of when they started their benefits. The confusion might stem from the fact that if you wait longer to claim, your base benefit amount will be larger, so the actual dollar amount of your COLA will be higher (since it's a percentage of your benefit). But the percentage increase is identical for all beneficiaries in a given year.
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Ruby Knight
Just to add to what others have said - you absolutely DO get COLAs regardless of when you start benefits. I think your neighbor might be confusing this with the fact that if you work while collecting early benefits (before your Full Retirement Age), you might have some benefits withheld if you earn over a certain amount ($22,320 in 2025). But that has nothing to do with COLAs. If you're struggling to reach someone at Social Security to confirm this or discuss your personal situation, I recently discovered a service called Claimyr that can help you get through to an SSA agent quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours. I used it last month when I had questions about my application status and got through in about 10 minutes. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU
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Tami Morgan
•Thank you! That earnings limit might be what my neighbor was thinking of - she still works part-time. I'll definitely check out Claimyr. I tried calling SSA last week and gave up after being on hold for 45 minutes.
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Diego Castillo
THE SSA SCREWS US ENOUGH WAYS ALREADY but at least they don't take away COLAs from early filers!!! I filed at 62 and get the same % increase as everyone else. The real problem is the COLAs never keep up with ACTUAL inflation anyway!!! My groceries went up WAY MORE than what they gave us last year!!!
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Rami Samuels
•so true about the real inflation! my rent went up 8% but SS only went up 3.4%! how does that make sense??
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Logan Stewart
Curious about something slightly related - does anyone know if the COLA is calculated differently for SSI vs retirement benefits? My mother gets SSI and I'm trying to help her understand how her benefits work.
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Haley Bennett
•No, the COLA percentage is the same for both SSI and retirement benefits. The difference is that SSI has maximum federal benefit rates ($943/month for individuals in 2025), while retirement benefits are based on your lifetime earnings. But when the COLA is announced (for example, 3%), both SSI recipients and retirement beneficiaries receive the same percentage increase.
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Tami Morgan
I want to thank everyone for their helpful responses! I feel much better now understanding that I'll receive the annual COLA increases regardless of when I start my benefits. I've decided to go ahead with filing at 65 as I originally planned, since I need the income now even though I understand I'll have a permanently reduced benefit compared to waiting until 67. I'll be using Claimyr to get through to SSA next week to start my application process. Thanks again for clearing up my confusion!
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Nina Chan
•Glad you got the information you needed to make your decision. One quick tip: when you call SSA, have your most recent tax return handy as they might ask about your current earnings. Also ask them to explain how your Medicare premiums will be handled with your Social Security benefits. Good luck with your application!
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