Will Social Security COLA increase apply to my husband's first benefit check in 2025?

It should be in first check he gets. My wife started last yr and her first check had new COLA already in it

The COLA is applied to ALL Social Security benefits starting with the January payment (which is received in February). So yes, your husband's first check in February 2025 will include whatever COLA is announced for 2025. Here's how it works: SSA calculates your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) based on his earnings history, then reduces it for early claiming (about 5.5% early based on claiming 11 months before his FRA), then applies the COLA increase that's in effect for that payment year. The 2025 COLA will be announced in October 2024, by the way, so you'll know the percentage increase well before he starts collecting.

I had SUCH a nightmare figuring this out when my own benefits started!! Called SSA like 6 times and kept getting disconnected after holding FOREVER. I finally tried using Claimyr.com to get through to a real person - they have this service where they navigate the phone system for you and call you back when an agent is on the line. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed that yes, your husband's February payment (covering January) will include the 2025 COLA. But heads up - they calculate benefits based on the PREVIOUS year's COLA until the new one is announced. So if he's checking his estimated benefit before October 2024, that number won't include the 2025 COLA yet.

WAIT A MINUTE PEOPLE!!! The real question is why is your husband claiming at 65 and 11 months when his FRA is 66/10?! That's going to PERMANENTLY reduce his benefit by like 5-6%!!! Is there some reason he's not waiting till full retirement age??? Unless he has health issues or desperately needs the money now, he should really reconsider!!! Once you claim early you're STUCK with that reduced amount FOREVER (except for COLAs)!!!

Just to add a practical point - if your husband creates a my Social Security account online (if he hasn't already), he can see his estimated benefit amount. After the 2025 COLA is announced in October 2024, that estimated amount should update to reflect the new COLA. This way, you'll know exactly what to expect for his February payment. Also, remember that Social Security payments are made in the month following the month for which they are due. So the February payment is actually for January 2025.

my brother got his first ss check last february and it had the cola in it from the start so your husband should too

I'm confused. If he's filing in Feb 2025 isn't that AFTER the COLA already happens? Don't they do the COLA in January? My head is spinning with all these dates lol

Btw make sure your husband has all his documents ready. They're super strict about that stuff. Birth certificate, marriage license, the whole deal. My application got delayed 2 months cuz I didn't have right papers.

One thing to keep in mind is that when your husband files his application, he should specify February 2025 as his desired start date to make sure he gets that first payment in February. Sometimes people accidentally select dates that push their first payment back a month. The SSA processes applications pretty quickly these days, but it's good to file at least a few weeks before you want benefits to start, especially if you're doing it online. Also, since he's claiming before his FRA, make sure he understands the earnings test if he plans to work at all after claiming - that can affect his benefits until he reaches full retirement age.